Theresa May has accused Labour of trying to “redefine antisemitism” by refusing to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of Jew hate.

Labour's decision to adopt its own code of conduct on antisemitism - over the protests of the Jewish community - triggered huge outrage and culiminated with Jeremy Corbyn being called "an antisemite and a racist" to his face by one of his Jewish MPs.

Labour's code omits or redefines a number of key points specifically defined as antisemitism in the IHRA version, such as the accusation that British Jews have “dual loyalties” or calling Israel a racist endeavour.

During Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, the Prime Minister told Mr Corbyn: “The Labour party is trying to redefine antisemitism to allow people to say that Israel is a racist endeavour.

“The Chief Rabbi says that what the Labour party is doing is ‘sending an unprecedented message of contempt for British Jews’. Even some of his own MPs are saying it is antisemitic.

“Antisemitism is racism. The Labour party should accept that, the Right Honourable Gentleman should accept that, and we should all sign up, as the Conservative party has done, to the definition of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and all its annexes.”

There were shouts of “shame” from the Conservative side of the chamber as she spoke.

Mrs May was responding to a question on the subject from Helen Whately, Tory MP for Faversham and Mid Kent. 

Ms Whately noted that “31 member countries of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance have an agreed definition of antisemitism”, and asked Mrs May whether she agreed “that all political parties should adopt this definition and its examples without amendments or omissions”.

The prime minister said Labour should adopt the IHRA definition "with all its anexes".