“I always in the past disagreed with the people who have called him an antisemite but at the end of the day people have to be judged on what they do, and not on what they say.
“I stand by those remarks, and it’s with a real heavy heart. By refusing to adopt the definition, in full, of what antisemitism is, he’s put himself in the position that he’s perceived by many that he’s antisemitic.”
Dame Margaret confirmed she will not quit the Labour Party over the issue, nor will she resign the whip, instead pledging to “fight from within”.
She added that, since the confrontation with Mr Corbyn, she has been targeted with online antisemitic abuse. A member of the public referred to her as a "Zionist b*tch" on a Facebook group supporting the Labour leader.
On Sunday, Mr Corbyn told Sky News that Dame Margaret’s attack had “upset” him – but said he was “as always, very calm”.
Speaking to the BBC, the Labour leader also denied the accusation that the party had attempted to "rewrite" the code.
He said: “It’s accepted almost all of it, and what it has done is it’s also put alongside it a code of conduct for members of the party because we will not tolerate antisemitism in any form whatsoever.”
