A FORMER Labour city council leader has said he is "concerned and disappointed" at the decision to readmit a councillor suspended for alleged anti-Semitic posts.

Warren Morgan, who served as leader of Brighton and Hove City Council from 2015 to 2018, said that the local Labour party should "reconsider its decision" to allow Councillor Anne Pissaridou to rejoin the group "if it is to win back the trust and respect of voters in the city".

Councillor Anne Pissaridou was suspended from the national party last year over the sharing of alleged anti-Semitic posts on social media.

Mr Morgan was criticised for speaking out against anti-Semitism at a Labour conference in Brighton in 2017.

In an email co-signed by Miriam Binder, Anne Pissaridou and Jon Rogers - at the time the chairs of the Kemptown, Hove, and Pavilion CLPs - the officials called his statement “hasty, intemperate and ill-judged” and wrote: “Your foolish and embarrassing behaviour has done our Party harm.”

Mr Morgan said: "What I said about anti-Semitism in Labour at that time was later vindicated by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission Report. Those who denied it was a problem, or said it was exaggerated, have been proved wrong."

The Brighton and Hove Labour group announced earlier this week that Cllr Pissaridou would be allowed to return to the local party after she "made conscious and sustained efforts to educate herself on issues around anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic tropes", and claimed she has begun "rebuilding trust with members of the local Jewish community".

However, a Jewish community group has also criticised the Labour group for their decision to readmit the councillor, claiming to have had no contact with her and that they are not aware of attempts by her to contact any of the city's recognised Jewish organisations.

A spokeswoman for the Sussex Jewish Representative Council said: "Cllr Pissaridou shared anti-Jewish tropes and conspiracies which caused great offence and upset to our local community. It is for us to decide whether she has done enough to make up for those insults, not the local Labour Party.

"If they had engaged with the local Jewish community and sought our input, they would have been aware of our feelings on this matter."

"It is a great shame that the Brighton and Hove Labour group still seem to be unaware that in order to address anti-Semitism you need to speak with your local Jewish community."

The decision to readmit Cllr Pissaridou came after a vote in the local Labour group, which another former Labour council leader - Daniel Yates, said "didn't go the way which I supported."

Speaking to The Argus about the decision, he said: "Once again, I am reminded of the depth of damage and fear that anti-Semitism caused for many of our city's residents and I am deeply troubled still by how we fully work to heal that dreadful wrong."

A spokesman for the Labour group said: "Whilst we welcome the rehabilitative steps Cllr Pissaridou has taken, there is an ongoing learning journey, we must all continuously take to improve our efforts to be proactive anti-racists and ever vigilant in the face of anti-Semitism.

"The Brighton and Hove Labour group are clear that there is no room for anti-Semitism or any other form of racism in our party, on our council, or in our city."

Cllr Pissaridou has been approached for comment.

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