The president of the National Union of Students has said she would not repeat the comments about Zionism  she has made in the past, saying that she is “always learning”.

Malia Bouattia, who was elected president of the NUS last April, had provoked anger over her reference to “Zionist-led media outlets” and her description of the University of Birmingham as a “Zionist outpost”.

Speaking to the JC after the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust ceremony, Ms Bouattia said: “I would never do it again. I’m always learning.”

She said she had used “clumsy language” in making the comment, and had apologised.

She added that she was “incredibly honoured to have been invited to have been part of this commemoration”.

The announcement that Ms Bouattia was to attend the Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony, representing the NUS, was met with anger by some members of the Jewish community, with a number of social media users branding the invitation “outrageous”.

In the hours after the ceremony, an online petition was also circulated by a group called Campaign Against Hate Speech

It called on Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local government, to ensure that Ms Bouattia would not be invited to next year’s event.

The petition referenced Ms Bouattia’s past comments, and described her attendance at the event as “a kick in the teeth”, and “an insult to the memory of those who perished.”

It quotes a speech Mr Javid gave last week, where he said: "We have to call out bigotry and racism whenever we see it and wherever we see it. What’s certain is that if we don’t speak out against hatred and antisemitism it will become normalised."

“Well Minister - we ARE speaking out. Here,” the petition, which has so far been signed by 175 people, continues. 

“We ask you to ensure that [Ms] Bouattia is not invited to the 2018 national HMD event.”