Naz Shah: Labour finally suspend Bradford West MP from party over anti-Semitic Facebook posts

Labour have finally suspended Naz Shah from the party after it emerged that the Bradford West MP had made anti-Semitic remarks before her election to parliament in 2015.

"Jeremy Corbyn and Naz Shah have mutually agreed that she is administratively suspended from the Labour Party by the general secretary," a Labour spokesperson said. "Pending investigation, she is unable to take part in any party activity and the whip is removed."

The move comes after Shah backed a call on Facebook to "relocate" all Israelis to the United States in a 2014 message. She apologised once the material came to light and resigned as a private parliamentary secretary (PPS) to Labour's shadow chancellor, John McDonnell.

"I made these posts at the height of the Gaza conflict in 2014, when emotions were running high around the Middle East conflict," she said in a statement to the Guido Fawkes blog, who first broke the story.

"But that is no excuse for the offence I have given, for which I unreservedly apologise. In recognition of that offence I have stepped down from my role as PPS to the shadow chancellor John McDonnell.

"I will be seeking to expand my existing engagement and dialogue with Jewish community organisations, and will be stepping up my efforts to combat all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism."

But Shah remained on the influential Home Affairs Committee, which is investigating the rise of anti-Semitism, and pressure grew on Labour's leadership to act. David Cameron intervened in the row during prime minister's questions, when the Conservative leader said it was "'quite extraordinary" that Labour had not suspended her.

Zac Goldsmith, the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London, claimed Labour had a problem with anti-Semitism within its ranks. "There is no doubt that the Labour Party has not been sufficiently robust in dealing with it, I think that's unforgivable," he told IBTimes UK.

"When an entire community begins to feel that the second biggest party in the country is not on their side, that is a problem that any self-respecting party needs to address."