Labour MP Reinstated After Suspension Over Middle East Speech

Undated handout photo issued by UK Parliament of Andy McDonald who is the Labour MP for Middlesbrough. Richard Townshend/UK Parliament via PA

Middlesbrough’s Andy McDonald has been reinstated as Labour MP five months after his suspension over a speech he made at a pro-Palestinian rally.

The Labour Party has restored Mr. McDonald’s whip following an investigation into the MP’s comments and the use of the phrase “between the river and the sea” at a protest in October 2023.

The Middlesbrough MP was suspended after the party found his comments to be “deeply offensive” at a time when anti-Semitism was on the rise in the UK.

Mr. McDonald said his words were “misrepresented” to mean the opposite of his message, which was a “heartfelt plea for an end to the killings in Israel, Gaza, and the occupied West Bank, and for all peoples in the region to live in freedom without the threat of violence.”

Following the investigation, Labour found that no party rules were breached and advised Mr. McDonald to be “mindful” in his future conduct.

Responding to the outcome, the minister said he was grateful for the restoration of the whip. In a post on the social media platform X, Mr. McDonald thanked his supporters and said he was pleased that the investigation found no breach of conduct.

He said that it was never his intention to cause anyone distress and that he “bitterly regret[s]” the “pain and hurt caused.” In a statement, the MP added he will not use the same phrasing again.

Political Discourse

The phrase “between the river and the sea” refers to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, which was called Mandatory Palestine before the United Nations agreed on its partition to create an Arab state and a Jewish state in 1948.

Critics have suggested that it has been used to call for the destruction of the state of Israel.

Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman told police chiefs in October last year that such chants or the waving of a Palestinian flag may be considered illegal in certain contexts.

Conservative MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, Simon Clarke, said on X that “no MP could use the ‘river to the sea’ phrase without being fully aware of its poisonous and provocative implications.”

The Conservative Party candidate for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East, Kiran Fothergill, has called for Mr. McDonald’s permanent suspension.

“There is no place for this language in our political discourse, especially at a time when incidents of antisemitism are on the rise. For Andy McDonald it’s a slap on the wrists. For the terrified Jewish community, it’s a slap in the face,” Mr. Fothergill said in a letter to the opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer.

Mr. McDonald has decried the “baseless and extremely harmful accusations” against him. Fighting against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia was the key reason why he joined the Labour Party, the MP said.

Labour

Earlier this week, the BBC apologised for reporting that Mr. McDonald had been suspended by Labour for an alleged anti-Semitic remark.

“This was incorrect. He was suspended for what the Labour Party called deeply offensive comments relating to the Israel-Gaza war. Mr McDonald denies this,” the broadcaster said.

The MP welcomed the retraction and said he has also received apologies from The Times of London and The Guardian for misreporting his “call for peace in the Middle East.”

The decision over Mr. McDonald’s readmission comes after Labour withdrew its support for former Rochdale by-election candidate Azhar Ali, who claimed that Israel allowed Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks to happen as a pretext to invade Gaza.

Labour has been trying to distance itself from the controversies surrounding the handling of anti-Semitism allegations under former leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Speaking about Labour’s stance, Sir Keir has said he “won’t tolerate anti-Semitism” and welcomed the progress of the party in that direction.