George Galloway has claimed that news outlets discussing Labour’s antisemitism are engaged in a “Goebbelian lie”, in a reference to Joseph Goebbels, the infamous Nazi propagandist.

Mr Galloway, the former Labour and Respect MP, was being interviewed on Sky News about his intention to rejoin the Labour party. In the wake of Luciana Berger, the Jewish MP, announcing her decision to leave Labour, Mr Galloway visited her constituency, ostensibly to talk to residents.

The far-left politician was expelled from the Labour Party in 2003, but said that he had written to the party's general secretary asking for his expulsion to be rescinded. Eight MPs have now left Labour, with a number of them, including Ms Berger, citing the party’s institutional antisemitism.

When asked why he was intending to try to return to Labour, Mr Galloway said: “I think with the Blairites walking out the door hurling their slander at Corbyn and the Labour leadership, it’s really a black op that’s going on here… I’ve been listening to your show and others all morning, it’s pure Goebellian propaganda, if you repeat a lie often enough, some people might believe that.”

Mr Galloway was challenged on his “Goebellian propaganda” comment by the presenter, Niall Patterson, who said: “We just mentioned Luciana Berger. Do you think it’s entirely appropriate to talk about Goebellian propaganda where we’ve got a Jewish Labour MP leaving because of antisemitism?”

Mr Galloway responded: “I don’t believe she’s leaving because of antisemitism. I believe you want people to believe that, and the Goebbels is you, and the Times and the other organs that are pumping out this foul slander against the Labour party and knowing that it’s untrue.”

In her resignation speech, Ms Berger specifically stated that she could not “remain in a party that I today have come to the sickening conclusion is institutionally antisemitic.”

Mr Galloway went on to say that “the Wavertree Labour party has a Jewish chair”, a reference to Alex Scott-Samuel, an extreme anti-Zionist at the forefront of efforts to get rid of Ms Berger, who made repeated appearances on a current affairs show broadcast by conspiracy theorist David Icke.

Mr Galloway also claimed that in Labour, “antisemitism is less now than when Ed Miliband was the leader. A Jewish leader. There was more antisemitism [then], according to the statistics of Jewish organisations themselves. So it’s all a lie. Corbyn is not antisemitic. Not a fibre, not an atom, not a molecule of his mind or body could be so described. That is the Goebellian lie.”

In response to Mr Galloway's expressed intention to rejoin the Labour party, Dave Rich, deputy communications director of the Community Security Trust, reminded people of the politician's "2015 love-in with the 'politically fascinating' Gilad Atzmon, whose thoroughly antisemitic book 'The Wandering Who?' left Galloway 'enthralled' as he read it to his new wife in bed each night."
 

According to a poll published on Sunday, one third of voters believe Mr Corbyn is antisemitic, while a JC poll last year found that in the Jewish community, that number is over 85 per cent.