Corbyn sends 'warmest congratulations' to elected councillor facing antisemitism probe

The Labour leader wrote: "Dear Sam, I want to send you my warmest congratulations on your election as a Labour councillor at last week’s local council elections.”

He added: "Your success is down to your own dedication and hard work throughout the campaign as well as the commitment of local Labour activists who are the backbone of the party.”

But in social media posts seen by the JC, Mr Gorst had openly branded Liverpool Wavertree MP Luciana Berger a "hideous traitor" in 2016 when she launched a bid to become the city's mayor.

In further posts, he bizarrely described the Jewish Voice for Labour Group as "a more fitting group for the Labour membership" than the Jewish Labour Movement - even though Mr Gorst is not Jewish himself.

Cllr Gorst also defended Pete Willsman, who ranted about Jewish people being "Trump fanatics and all the rest of it" during a meeting of Labour's National Executive Committee.

In another post, he shared someone else's claim that they could not "differentiate between Nazism and Zionism as two criminal regimes in this picture" alongside images of the Gaza Strip's border with Israel and a concentration camp fence.