A Haringey councillor who has been suspended from the Labour Party for sharing allegedly antisemitic content has denied the allegations against him.
The Ham&High received screenshots of comments made and articles shared by the former Haringey cabinet member Cllr Noah Tucker on his private Facebook account.
Cllr Tucker said he is an “opponent of racism in all its forms including antisemitism” and that his social media posts have been “selectively edited” in the screenshots sent to this newspaper.
One includes a Morning Star article which claimed US police officers “responsible for the killing of George Floyd received training in restraint techniques and anti-terror tactics from Israeli law enforcement officers” when it was initially published on June 1.
Weeks later, once already shared by Cllr Tucker, the article was amended to remove reference to “restraint techniques”.
In a separate Facebook comment, the St Ann’s councillor called the Board of Deputies of British Jews’ ten recommendations to tackle antisemitism in the Labour Party “beyond ridiculous”.
Cllr Tucker told this newspaper: “I am an opponent of racism in all its forms including antisemitism.
“Social media posts have been collated, including selective editing, seemingly in a malicious attempt to falsely associate me with antisemitism.
“States and organisations which engage politically are legitimately subjects of discussion and criticism.
“I am confident that a fair process by the Labour Party will reinstate me soon to full membership.”
In February 2019, Cllr Tucker defended Chris Williamson after the former Labour MP claimed Labour had been “too apologetic” over antisemitism.
Earlier this year, Cllr Tucker’s request for Tottenham Labour Party to drop a clause on zero-tolerance of antisemitism was rejected.
The former cabinet member for corporate services and insourcing will now serve as an independent councillor, while an investigation takes place.
It is understood two other Haringey Labour councillors were suspended last week, believed to be Cllr Pat Berryman (Bounds Green) and Cllr Dana Carlin (Hornsey), who are now listed as independents on Haringey Council’s website.
Amid the wave of suspensions, the local party’s AGM on Monday (September 7) has been postponed, where Cllr Berryman was set to stand against Cllr Joseph Ejiofor as leader.
A complaint was recently lodged against Cllr Berryman, allegedly for Islamophobia. He told LabourList: “I am aware of a complaint, though I don’t know the full substance of it, and it will be handled by the Labour Party.”
In recent months, Haringey’s Cllr Preston Tabois (St Ann’s) and Cllr Vincent Carroll (Tottenham Hale) have been suspended from the Labour Party.
Cllr Tabois, who has been approached for comment, allegedly shared an article about antisemitism.
Cllr Carroll denied to this newspaper his suspension concerned alleged antisemitism.
Last November, Cllr Gideon Bull – who was set to put himself forward for Haringey mayor at Monday’s AGM – withdrew from standing in the general election and apologised for using the term “Shylock” at a meeting including a Jewish councillor.
Luke Cawley-Harrison, Haringey Liberal Democrats’ leader, said: “In 2018, Joe Ejiofor told the Ham&High his group was ‘united in their determination to serve all residents in Haringey’.
“Instead, even during a terrible crisis for the borough and the country, the only thing uniting them is their mutual hostility.
“Haringey Labour chose its candidates for councillors on the basis of their ideology, rather than their competence or character.
“In so doing, they created a dysfunctional council leadership and gave positions of power to peddlers of bigotry and conspiracy theories.
“It is clear that regardless of who is their leader, infighting amongst Labour councillors will always prevent them focusing on the needs of Haringey’s people.”
At the time of publication, Haringey Labour and Haringey Council had not yet responded to this newspaper’s approach for comment.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here