Fury as Labour frontbencher Lisa Nandy is pictured with conspiracy theorist Rochdale candidate Azhar Ali hours after he is forced to apologise for claiming Israel allowed Hamas to slaughter Jews on October 7 in order to justify an invasion of Gaza

Azhar Ali is defending a Labour majority of more than 9,000 in Rochdale 

Labour was facing fury over its Rochdale by-election campaign today after a senior frontbencher posed for pictures with the party’s conspiracy theorist by-election candidate.

Shadow international development minister Lisa Nandy was photographed at an event alongside Azhar Ali hours after he apologised for claiming Israel allowed Hamas to kill 1,400 Jews on October 7 in order to justify an invasion of Gaza.

The Labour leadership this morning tried to distance the party from Mr Ali, a local councillor, with campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden branding his remarks ‘wrong’.

But he also confirmed he would remain the Labour candidate for the February 29 vote triggered by the death of MP Tony Lloyd from cancer last month, because he is already on the ballot paper.

A picture of ‘Rochdale’s brilliant candidate’ Mr Ali with Ms Nandy, the Wigan MP and a former chairwoman of Labour Friends of Palestine, was shared on X by a local councillor this afternoon.

Former Tory deputy chairman Brendan Clarke-Smith branded it ‘truly shocking’, adding: ‘Despite their rhetoric Labour clearly haven’t changed. They continue to endorse those espousing these views and think it’s acceptable for them to sit in our Parliament.’

A picture of ‘Rochdale’s brilliant candidate’ Mr Ali with Ms Nandy, the Wigan MP and a former chairwoman of Labour Friends of Palestine, was shared on X by a local councillor this afternoon.

Azhar Ali (pictured) apologised ‘unreservedly to the Jewish community for my comments which were deeply offensive, ignorant, and false’

Labour’s election co-ordinator Pat McFadden today said that Mr Ali would still be the candidate in the February 29 vote – though he stopped short of saying he would stand in the seat in the general election later this year.

Mr Ali also claimed that Sir Keir Starmer had ‘lost the confidence’ of his MPs over his stance on the conflict

Mr Ali is the strong favorite to win the safe seat, meaning Labour could have a new MP in early March who believes in a conspiracy theory.

The bombshell remarks – obtained by the Mail on Suinday  – also recorded him saying Sir Keir Starmer had ‘lost the confidence’ of his MPs over his stance on the conflict.

Labour’s election co-ordinator Pat McFadden today said that Mr Ali would still be the candidate in the February 29 vote – though he stopped short of saying he would stand in the seat in the general election later this year.

‘It was wrong to say that, he should never have said it,’ Mr McFadden told Sky News.

Asked if he remained a Labour candidate, he added: ‘In the upcoming by-election? Yes he will.’

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said: ‘Were it not too late to do so, we would have called on Labour to replace Mr Ali as a candidate. It is clear to us that Mr Ali is not apologising out of a genuine sense of remorse.’ 

Raphi Bloom, co-chairman of the North West Friends Of Israel, added: ‘To accuse the Israeli government of wilfully allowing Jews to be slaughtered is a disgraceful and shocking thing to say.’

Tory Vice-Chairman Craig Tracey said: ‘The fact that Sir Keir’s candidate for Rochdale is spreading these bizarre and offensive anti-Israel conspiracy theories shows that for all his bluster, he’s failed to change his party.

‘These are the ramblings of an internet crank, not someone who aspires to be a Member of Parliament.’

Last night Mr Ali issued a statement to The Mail on Sunday, saying: ‘I apologise unreservedly to the Jewish community for my comments which were deeply offensive, ignorant, and false.

Hamas’s horrific terror attack was the responsibility of Hamas alone, and they are still holding hostages who must be released.

October 7 was the greatest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, and Jews in the UK and across the world are living in fear of rising anti-Semitism.

I will urgently apologise to Jewish leaders for my inexcusable comments.

‘The Labour Party has changed unrecognisably under Keir Starmer’s leadership – he has my full support in delivering the change Britain needs.’

Mr Ali made his initial remarks at a meeting of the Lancashire Labour Party soon after the attacks, making the astonishing claim that the Israeli government had removed its border security to give the Hamas terrorists free rein.

He told the meeting: ‘The Egyptians are saying that they warned Israel ten days earlier… Americans warned them a day before [that] there’s something happening… They deliberately took the security off, they allowed… that massacre that gives them the green light to do whatever they bloody want.’

The Labour candidate is defending a Labour majority of more than 9,000 in Rochdale on February 29

Rochdale during the launch of his campaign for the up-coming Rochdale by-election

After someone suggested Sir Keir was ‘held in high regard’, Mr Ali replied: ‘Can I disagree with you… A lot of the MPs I’ve spoken to, non-Muslim MPs, feel that on this issue, he’s lost the confidence of the parliamentary party.’

Mr Ali was selected last month to contest the by-election, caused by the death of Sir Tony Lloyd. He served a five-year stint as a Government advisor under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

Sir Keir has come under intense pressure over his handling of the Gaza crisis. In November, 56 of his MPs defied him and backed calls for a ceasefire; he is now calling for a ‘sustainable ceasefire’.

On Friday, Shabana Mahmood, the Shadow Justice Secretary, said ‘there has been a sense of a loss of trust… that needs to be rebuilt’ between the party and British Muslims, adding that she ‘wanted a ceasefire then, I want a ceasefire now’.

Gary Mond, Chairman of the National Jewish Assembly, said: ‘Some 1,400 innocent Israeli citizens were murdered, beheaded, burned alive and raped in the most barbaric way imaginable by terrorists from Hamas and affiliated groups.

‘It is these actions the whole world needs to condemn, including Mr Ali… and not indulgence in speculation regarding the causes.

‘As regards Sir Keir Starmer, in refusing to call for a cessation of the war, he demonstrates a recognition of Israel’s basic right to defend itself, and by implication Israel’s right to exist.

‘This is laudable and is endorsed even by those who are not supporters of the Labour Party.’