The New Statesman has apologised after prompting outrage for publishing a “letter of the week” accused of containing Holocaust revision.

The letter, sent by former Labour council candidate Noel Hamel in response to a number of articles about refugees, claimed: “Zionists in Palestine agreed to accept wealthy Jews under the 1933 Haavara agreement with the Third Reich because they could share the economic spoils.

“We need to consider what resistance to helping others in need is really about.” The Haavara Agreement is widely recognised as an attempt by the Nazis to extort money from some Jews who were then allowed to emigrate to Palestine.

Dave Rich, head of policy at the security group CST, said the letter was “an example of how Ken Livingstone’s antisemitic association of Nazism and Zionism has become an accepted truth in parts of the left.

“It really shouldn’t have been published.”

Karen Pollock, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Education Trust, said: “The Haavara agreement was the extortion of money from Jews by the Nazis — allowing them to get out of Nazi Germany. The letter should not have been published.”

Labour Against Antisemitism activist Emma Picken asked: “Can anyone explain from the [New Statesman] editorial staff explain why they have published Holocaust revision?”

The Haavara agreement allowed Jews to use their assets to purchase German manufactured goods before emigrating to Palestine.

It meant around 60,000 Jews were able to escape Germany, but also enabled the regime to boost exports and earn revenue.

Mr Hamel was previously a Labour party candidate for Kingston Upon Thames council. He has also signed an open letter in support of disgraced University of Bristol academic David Miller, who was sacked after making inflammatory remarks about Jewish students.

In a correction published to their website, the New Statesman said: “We have removed a letter published in our edition of 10 December which contained an inaccurate reference to the 1933 Haavara agreement.

“We apologise for the error and the offence it caused.”

The magazine was also forced to apologise in 2002 for publishing a cover story on the supposed power of the Israel lobby with the headline “A Kosher conspiracy”.