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Listen: Rupa Huq’s disastrous attempt to defend Naz Shah’s anti-Semitic posts – ‘I retweeted a picture of Boris Johnson on a zip-wire’

Oh dear. Whichever bright spark over at Labour HQ decided it would be a good idea to send Rupa Huq on Today to defend Naz Shah will now be regretting it. The Labour MP for Ealing Central appeared to take the Ken Livingstone approach in the interview, opting to play down Shah’s sharing of anti-Semitic posts — which led to her suspension.


Huq started things off by focussing on the perils of social media — rather than the issue of anti-Semitism. Apparently it’s really easy to share a post on Facebook, even an anti-Semitic one:

‘She shared a post on Facebook, it’s easy to click those buttons – like, share – and I guess we have to be very careful what it is we are clicking on — all of us. This was a time when she wasn’t a public figure, it’s a time when she wasn’t a public figure. It’s just really unfortunate.

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Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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