Former Master of the Rolls Lord Dyson has said there is a "powerful case" that Jeremy Corbyn could be labelled antisemitic.

The country's former most senior civil judge also said he believed Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis' intervention over Labour's failure to tackle anti-Jewish racism was "justified". 

Asked by the Sunday Telegraph if he believed the Labour leader was antisemitic, Lord Dyson said: “I think all I can say is – I don’t want to say positively that he is antisemitic – but I think there is a powerful case that he may well be. I’m choosing my words rather carefully here.”

But, when considering if he believed there was evidence to support the allegation, he added: “There is evidence that he is antisemitic, but I wouldn’t like to say positively that he is. There is evidence that he may well be.”

Lord Dyson also expressed dismay at the time it took Mr Corbyn to apologise for failing to tackle anti-Jewish racism in his party.

He said: "Mr Corbyn has now apologised finally, but one does wonder why it’s taken him so long.”

The retired senior judge added: “If I were cross-examining him in court, which of course I would never be doing, I would want to know from him why he found it so incredibly difficult to apologise.

"In the last few days before the election suddenly he finds that he’s able to do so. I would’ve wanted to press him on that."

Lord Dyson said he was "quite sure" not all members of Labour were antisemitic, but he said there were "nasty things going on in certain parts" of the party.

But he said "excellent" MPs such as Luciana Berger had been "hounded out" of the party.

In an interview with the JC in October, Lord Dyson said his bags were "metaphorically" packed in the face of rising antisemitism.