Maajid: Why Chuka Umunna Is Culpable In 'Institutionally Racist' Labour Party

9 September 2018, 14:28 | Updated: 9 September 2018, 17:36

Chuka Umunna is "morally culpable" for the 'institutionally racist' Labour Party says Maajid, after the MP said he'd rather change the party 'from the inside' than leave.

Maajid Nawaz praised Labour MP Chuka Umunna for calling his party "institutionally racist", but criticised the MP after he said he would not quit in order to 'change it from the inside'.

Mr Umunna described the Labour Party as "institutionally racist" in a television interview as the party adopts the full IHRA definition of anti-semitism after months of criticism for only previously adopting it in part.

But LBC presenter Maajid Nawaz, who has been critical of Labour's handling of the anti-semitism row, thought that Mr Umunna's comment were not good enough.

"Not only have I been criticising Corbyn, I've been asking those centre-left MPs to leave the Labour Party," he said.

"Speaking of politicians standing for what they actually believe, I wish one of these centre-left MPs had the moral backbone and courage to stand up and recognise that the writing's on the wall when it comes to the Labour Party."

Maajid continued: "You cannot change Corbyn's institutional racism from within the party for the reason what Momentum, his movement that backs him, have changed the rules of the game.

"They now dominate the NEC and they're beginning their purge to deselect centre-left MPs like Chuka from their seats.

"Mr Umunna, you will not be able to change them from the inside, nor any of your fellow censor-left MP's, and if you had the moral backbone that you claim to have you would leave, defect from the Labour Party and join all other centrists in this country.

"That requires moral courage and I believe that those centre-left MP's who don't leave the Labour Party under Corbyn and it's institutionally racist set up at this stage are morally culpable."