A Guardian editor has acknowledged Steve Bell’s cartoon responding to Jeremy Corbyn’s suspension from the Labour Party was "highly provocative".

The illustration - which critics accused of antisemitism - depicted Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer carrying his predecessor’s dismembered head on a plate. 

It drew comparisons to Caravaggio’s painting of Salome and John the Baptist, in which the princess of Judea is shown looking away as she receives the preacher’s decapitated head.

Thirty-two readers complained the cartoon featured “antisemitic imagery”, the Guardian and Observer’s global readers editor Elisabeth Ribbans said in a column on Thursday.

But, according to the column, Mr Bell strongly denied the accusation and maintained the piece had “nothing to do with religion and everything to do with politics”.

Mr Bell faced similar claims in the past, which he rejected. 

Prior to the cartoon’s publication, there had been “considerable discussion, including with some Jewish colleagues and experts”, the editor confirmed.

“I do not believe Bell to be antisemitic or that he intended his Starmer to embody any noxious myth about Jews,” she added.

“However, using a Jewish biblical figure who conspired against a saint was highly provocative and open to just the kind of interpretations made.”

Mr Corbyn’s suspension was sparked by his response to a damning report into antisemitism, which found “unlawful” acts of discrimination and harassment. He wrote on Facebook that anti-Jewish racism within the party was “dramatically overstated” by his opponents and the media.