Ex-Shrewsbury mayor leaves Labour Party amid anti-Semitism allegations
A former mayor of Shrewsbury has resigned from the Labour Party following claims he had shared anti-Semitic posts on social media.
Councillor Ioan Jones was reported to the Labour Party last summer after the posts came to light and an investigation was launched.
He announced on Tuesday his decision to leave the party and will now sit as a non-affiliated independent councillor on Shrewsbury Town Council and Shropshire Council.
It is understood that Councillor Jones, who represents the Harlescott ward, is no longer subject to an investigation as he is no longer a Labour Party member.
A Labour Party spokesman said: "Councillor Ioan Jones was subject to disciplinary procedures but decided to resign rather than face those procedures.
"If he attempted to rejoin the party, the pending disciplinary action against him would be automatically flagged and he would not be able to automatically join in the way that new members can."
Councillor Jones was placed under investigation last July for sharing a Facebook post comparing the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.
During his time as mayor, Councillor Jones also reposted an image online about investment banker Jacob Rothschild, claiming that his family had "financed both sides of every war since Napoleon".
Salute
In 2017, he posted an image on his public Facebook page which shows a picture of Mr Netanyahu underneath an image of Hitler with the tag line: "What’s the difference?"
The image also appears to portray the Israeli leader giving a Nazi salute.
The Labour Party has been hit with allegations of anti-Semitism. Jeremy Corbyn's leadership has been dogged by an ongoing row over anti-Semitism among activists and officials of the party. It culminated in Scotland Yard launching a criminal investigation into alleged hate crimes - and seven MPs quitting in protest at the failure to tackle the problem.
Labour has come under fire over its handling of disciplinary action against members accused of making anti-Semitic remarks - such as Ken Livingstone, who was suspended for two years for claiming Hitler was a Zionist.
Naz Shah, the MP for Bradford West, also resigned as an aide to shadow chancellor John McDonnell after she was accused of sharing anti-Semitic graphics on social media.
In 2018 the Labour Party was urged to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, including the 11 examples of "contemporary anti-Semitism".
Councillor Jones was unavailable for comment.
