Corbyn should've found "some sort of words" on antisemitism, admits Margaret Beckett

28 November 2019, 19:54 | Updated: 28 November 2019, 19:57

Labour's Margaret Beckett admitted that Jeremy Corbyn should have found "some sort of words" in response to the anti-semitic accusations brought up in Andrew Neil's interview, after he refused four times to apologise.

Ephraim Mirvis, the Chief Rabbi, said Jeremy Corbyn is "unfit for high office". Writing in the Times the religious leader said “a new poison” in the form of antisemitism has taken hold in Labour “sanctioned from the very top”.

After an interview with Andrew Neil where he was given four opportunities to apologise for anti-semitism and did not, the caller Roy asked Margaret Beckett whether the Labour leader made a mistake.

Margaret Beckett called the rabbi's words "brutal" and said that Jeremy Corbyn had already apologised before.

"He may have thought if he made another apology, it may have been taken that he was accepting what the Chief Rabbi had said," said Ms Beckett.

Eddie Mair said Mr Corbyn could have found the words but did not.

"When you've got Andrew Neil hammering away at the same point, I'm sure it starts to feel if you give way, you are completely up the swanny," she said, and conceded that it would have been better if he'd found some sort of words.

The caller Roy insisted that he should have apologised and this was why he could not vote for Labour with Mr Corbyn in charge.