Kent MP investigated for liking ‘anti-semitic’ tweet

An MP from Kent is under investigation for endorsing a tweet that has been labeled by her party as having anti-Semitic content.

Rosie Duffield, who is the sole representative of the Labour Party in the area, has received criticism for endorsing a post on X (previously known as Twitter) made by Graham Linehan, the writer of the popular sitcom Father Ted.

Mr Linehan responded to a tweet by comedian Eddie Izzard, who is running for a seat in Parliament. Izzard's tweet stated that she is a trans superhero and that if she had lived in Nazi Germany, she would have been killed for it.

The comedy writer from Ireland, who identifies as an advocate for women's rights, answered: "Oh, I see, the Nazis were well-known for discriminating against heterosexual white males with blonde hair."

According to a report by the Sunday Times, Duffield, who is 52 years old, received criticism from LGBT Labour, a campaign group, for liking a tweet back in March. The Labour Party is now conducting an investigation regarding the matter.

This isn't the initial instance where the politician who stands for the Canterbury and Whitstable seat, which is considered to be "extremely marginalized," has faced criticism from her own political party.

In a recent blog post, she declared that leader of the Labour party, Sir Keir Starmer, and the party as a whole had shunned her because of her support for trans rights. She compared her experience within the party to that of being in an abusive relationship. Additionally, she has faced accusations of transphobia due to her endorsement of online comments criticizing a tweet that stated "only women have a cervix."

Ms Duffield has made efforts to prevent individuals with male genitalia who identify as females from accessing female-only facilities like prisons and changing rooms. She has gained the backing of renowned author of the Harry Potter series, JK Rowling.

Insiders who are familiar with Ms Duffield's situation conveyed to the Sunday Times that they suspect the tweet she liked is being used as a means to attack her due to her opinions on gender, as they are considered to be critical. One source even alleged that the party made a "shrewd calculation" that grievances regarding anti-Semitism carry more weight than those involving transgender topics and are therefore more likely to result in repercussions.

An individual by the name of Lord Austin who was once a Labour MP but left the party due to antisemitism during Jeremy Corbyn's leadership in 2019, referred to the inquiry regarding Duffield as "insanity".

He stated that Rosie Duffield has been one of the few Members of Parliament who have persistently battled against anti-semitism with great strength.

Out of many MPs, she was among the handful who made an appearance and expressed her solidarity with the ‘enough is enough’ protest against anti-Semitic acts in 2018. From that time onwards, she has always stood against anti-Semitism.

The Member of Parliament from Kent is currently not recognized as an authorized candidate by the party for the upcoming general election.

It has been reported that she addressed the accusations in detail and refuted all of them.

The member of parliament who belongs to the Labour party was asked to give a statement.