Sir Keir Starmer is facing calls to sack four Labour MPs over their historic links with Palestine Action after six members of the radical group were arrested on Sunday.
The Met Police swooped in and nabbed the extreme political activists after the Daily Express revealed secret plans to “shut down” the London Stock Exchange on Monday.
A reporter, posing as an activist within the group, was told they planned on locking themselves together, by the neck, at the front entrance to the building, preventing workers from getting inside.
The extreme group were hoping to disrupt multinational arms dealers who supply Israel with weapons, currently being used to try and release hostages being held by Hamas.
This morning, a deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, Jack Lopresti, told the Express that Sir Keir must remove the whip from at least three Labour MPs who have links with Palestine Action.
In 2021, Ian Byrne (Liverpool West Derby) spoke at the same event as Huda Ammori, the co-founder of the group.
That same year, former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell shared Palestine Action’s tweet in support of their activists on the roof of a factory in Leicester.
Mr McDonnell added: “Solidarity in action. Respect to the Fire Brigades Union.”
Later in the year, he also spoke at a protest alongside Ms Ammori, in a campaign against an Arms Fair in Liverpool.
Liverpool Riverside MP Kim Johnson also attended a protest alongside Ms Ammori, saying she was “proud to march alongside my friend and colleague Paul Barker [Liverpool Wavertree] and my Riverside councillors… against the holding of the Electronic Arms Fair in my constituency”.
While no longer a Labour MP, Jeremy Corbyn also has links with Palestine Action.
In 2023 he tweeted in “solidarity” with those taking part in Palestine Action’s “Global Day of Action against Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer”.
He said: “As governments ignore our demands for peace, it is easy to feel powerless. We will not give up. We can — and we will — #ShutElbitDown.”
Mr Corbyn is also a patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which this month proposed an amendment to recognise the “victory” achieved by groups including Palestine Action.
Jack Lopresti, Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, said: “It’s clear that Labour hasn’t changed – they’re still the party of protest.
“After four years trying to make Jeremy Corbyn our Prime Minister and over four years as Labour Leader, Sir Keir has shown time after time that he will never take on the far left’s dangerous views in his own Party.
“If Sir Keir had a plan he would grow a backbone and withdraw the whip.”
Labour has been contacted for comment.
