closeicon
News

Countdown's Nick Hewer 'will no longer vote Labour' after Rachel Riley suffers abuse over antisemitism

Co-star has been the target of abuse by far-left activists in recent months, which began when she shared a video condemning Jew-hate in football

articlemain

Nick Hewer, the presenter of Countdown, has said he will no longer vote Labour in protest against the abuse suffered by colleague Rachel Riley, who has been an outspoken critic of the party's antisemitism crisis.

Ms Riley has been the target of abuse by far-left activists on Twitter in recent months, which began when she shared a video condemning antisemitism in football in December.

The presenter, who is Jewish, said she was then confronted with “weird and aggressive posts about Israel and Zionists”, sharing a number of posts which sought to compare the Israeli state with the Nazis.

Since then, Ms Riley has continued to discuss Labour’s ongoing antisemitism crisis on her Twitter account.

Mr Hewer, formerly an aide to Lord Sugar on The Apprentice, renounced his support for the party via the social media site on Tuesday, saying he had voted for the party since 1964 but would not any longer.

He said he was "raised to abhor bigotry" and "astonished at the blunt assaults and trickster arguments fired at my friend and colleague for calling out antisemitism in that once great Labour party which I have voted for since 1964. Not any more.”

Share via

Want more from the JC?

To continue reading, we just need a few details...

Want more from
the JC?

To continue reading, we just
need a few details...

Get the best news and views from across the Jewish world Get subscriber-only offers from our partners Subscribe to get access to our e-paper and archive