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Linton apologises for ' Israel's tentacles' speech

April 2, 2010 17:19

By

Martin Bright,

Martin Bright

2 min read

One of the Labour Party’s most prominent pro-Palestinian
campaigners has apologised for comments he made in Parliament last month
warning voters of the “long tentacles of Israel” seeking to influence the
forthcoming UK election.

Martin Linton, Labour MP for Battersea, founded Labour
Friends of Palestine and serves as its chair. He said he was sorry for any
offence caused, but was not aware of the anti-Semitic precedents of the image
of a Jewish octopus.

As the JC reported this week, Mr Linton, speaking in the
House of Commons on March 23 at a meeting held by Friends of Al-Aqsa to discuss
Israeli house demolitions,  said: “There are long tentacles of Israel in this
country who are funding election campaigns and putting money into the British
political system for their own ends.”

He added: “You must consider over the next few weeks, when
you make decisions about how you vote and how you advise constituents to vote,
you must make them aware of the attempt by Israelis and by pro-Israelis to
influence the election.”