Ken Loach has claimed antisemitism being used to purge Labour of politicians on the left as he criticised the party for blocking a mayor who shared a platform with him. 

Jamie Driscoll, the North of Tyne mayor who has been dubbed the “last Corbynista in power”, was last week prevented from standing for election in 2024 following a recent on-stage discussion with Loach.

Loach, who was expelled from the party in 2021 amid efforts to root out antisemitism, said Labour had used the “lamest excuse I’ve ever heard” for not including Driscoll on the candidate list.

He added: “The whole antisemitism issue has been substantially revealed as a campaign that is not based on fact.

“It’s based on political determination to do a number of things, to remove people from the left, to protect the state of Israel, which many people, many Jewish people in the Labour Party, oppose, oppose this campaign.”

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Jewish Labour Movement chair Mike Katz (Photo: Handout)

He said: “This is exactly the sort of offensive downplaying and denialism that Keir Starmer was right to say is unacceptable as the antisemitism itself that so many Jewish Labour members went through under Corbyn.”

Mr Driscoll, who has been in power since 2019, said preventing Labour members from having a say over whether he should represent the North East was “frankly shocking” as he defended his “fantastic” track record.

The mayor defended discussing Loach’s films, saying: “My understanding is he’s made all sorts of clarifications that he’s not a Holocaust denier.”

Meanwhile, asked on BBC Radio 4's World At One programme on Monday if he could take legal action if unable to contest the decision, he said: "Obviously I'm taking advice on that. And I would absolutely prefer not to go down that route if it's possible." He said there is a precedent for stopping selection processes before restarting them.

Jonathan Reynolds, Shadow business secretary, “strongly” disagreed with claims that Sir Keir was trying to purge the left of the party.

He said: “Where somebody shares a platform with someone who themselves has been expelled from the Labour Party for their views on antisemitism... that would preclude them from being a Labour candidate.”