he shouldn't have been suspended, right? he was suspended on what was said. and, you know, i know him really well. and he's a solid palestinian, pro—palestine supporter. the media and some of the people in the media from certainjewish quarters were given bleep about what he said. earlier today, housing minister lee rowley also commented on the rochdale controversy. i mean, it's a complete mess and the labour party have to answer for that. but i think there's some really fundamental questions here. azhar ali did notjust make some of these statements quietly to a few people in the corner. some of the statements that have come out that i had to be dragged out by the press were made to labour party meetings. the labour party have got a real

problem here and it's demonstrating they are not fit for government, they haven't changed and they shouldn't be voted in when the election comes later in the year. could you win this by—election now then? i don't know, i've not been to rochdale, we hope absolutely that rochdale may return a conservative mp. i don't think it's done so since the 19505. but, you know, hope springs eternal and we will fight very hard for every vote. but the key issue here is, how have labour got themselves into a mess in one of their safer seats, which means the candidate has been disavowed and he's been disavowed for comments made to a labour party meeting. let's speak to annabel tiffin in salford. she tiffin in salford. is our political editor for the north she is our political editor for the north west. annabel, so where does this stand now, where does it leave the ballot? i this stand now, where does it leave the ballot? ~ ., ., , the ballot? i think labour was alwa s the ballot? i think labour was always aware _ the ballot? i think labour was always aware that _ the ballot? i think labour was always aware that gaza - the ballot? i think labour was always aware that gaza was . the ballot? i think labour was - always aware that gaza was going to be a huge issue in this by—election. i was there just a few days ago speaking to people on the streets and i spoke to a lot of labour muslims who said they were angry that labour didn't have a strong

enough stance on this. a couple of labourfigures i have been speaking to, they didn't want to go on the record but they said privately one of the reasons they called this by—election so quickly, and it is going to be on february the 29th, was because they didn't want other candidates to gain momentum. they mean by that, george galloway. he is campaigning for the workers party of britain and he is campaigning against labour�*s stance on gaza. in fact another mp said to me he thought this by—election was rushed and they didn't do enough due diligence on the candidate. but it was almost unseemly that they called the by—election before tony lloyd, the by—election before tony lloyd, the former mp who died, before his funeral had taken place. tony lloyd won with a majority in 2019 of about 19,500. so you could say that on paper this was a relatively safe seat and that it was labour's to

lose. but now we have an unprecedented situation. you have a labour candidate whose name is still going to be on the ballot, but he is not backed by the party. we have two former labour mps who are standing former labour mps who are standing for different parties. you have a green candidate who was also withdrawn but he will stay on the ballot. and then you have five other candidates, including the liberal democrats and the conservatives. mr ali hasn't been seen recently but labour have confirmed he is no longer going to be the leader of labour lancashire county council. right, where does this leave labour plus macrobid, does it remove some of the momentum from it? yes. plus macrobid, does it remove some of the momentum from it? yes, they don't have a — of the momentum from it? yes, they don't have a candidate _ of the momentum from it? yes, they don't have a candidate standing - of the momentum from it? yes, they don't have a candidate standing for l don't have a candidate standing for labour in rochdale any more. as i said, it is unprecedented. when you think about it, if labour supporters there and respect are quite a few of

them this morning in the town, they have said we don't know what to do, we don't know who to vote for because we don't have a candidate. a couple of them have said we are not going to vote at all. which turnout is often low by—elections, but that will not be good for labour if they want to retain the seat. they cannot retain the seat because even if mr ali wins this by—election he will have to stand as an independent, because labour have removed the weight. so labour, given they will be a general election quite soon, will have to choose another candidate to stand in rochdale. i spoke to one local mp this morning he said to me, we promise, for the general election that we are going to get it right this time and we will choose the right candidate. the issue seems — will choose the right candidate. the issue seems to be the delay over removing the wit and displaying into an existing narrative concerning anti—semitism within the labour

party? anti-semitism within the labour pa ? , ., , , party? yes, indeed and this is something _ party? yes, indeed and this is something keir— party? yes, indeed and this is something keir starmer- party? yes, indeed and this is something keir starmer has . party? yes, indeed and this is - something keir starmer has worked very hard to stand out anti—semitism in the party. i spoke to louise ellman, she was the mp for liverpool riverside and i am speaking to her again later on, but she has said that mr ali was actually a friend to jewish people and that actually that is why he was a good candidate, because he wanted to bridge any division that there may have been. i think this has come as a shock, certainly to people like louise ellman, who, up untila certainly to people like louise ellman, who, up until a couple of days ago, was supporting him. labour were supporting him up until last night and it was only when the daily mail revealed the latest video, which i think you have shown, they have finally come out and said they are withdrawing the wit. but that delay is what has made a lot of people unhappy. we have run round a lot of mps today and we have been told that nobody from labour is

speaking on this issue. i think at the moment they want to keep out of it, but they can't, because there is a by—election on february the 29th and people will want to make a choice. if they are a labour voter, they have a difficult choice to make indeed. . ~ they have a difficult choice to make indeed. ., ~ , ., they have a difficult choice to make indeed. . ~' , ., , they have a difficult choice to make indeed. ., ~ i. , . earlier, the former labour mp thank you very much. lord mann, now independent adviser to the uk government on antisemitism, spoke to my colleague lauren taylor. here's his take on mr ali's comments. i think from where i'm sitting, what i want to see political parties do is act and make the right decision. so i've never been one for haste. i've been one for getting the right decision. i think probably they wish they'd acted sooner for the optics of it in terms of the decision made. i think it's actually quite a bold decision to basically to throw away a parliamentary seat. i don't think that's happened before. it's certainly not happened in my lifetime. you occasionally get it with councillors, but that's very, very rare and there's 10,000 councillors out there.

it's incredibly rare. for it to happen at the parliamentary level and throw a parliamentary seat, which is what labor's done, i think it's quite bold and i think thejewish community, as it reflects, will take quite a lot of comfort from the fact that sir keir starmer has been prepared to do that. and what about the overall perception with labour? does does labour still have an anti—semitism problem? clearly there's an issue there and this candidate should have been weeded out in the selection process. and i'm sure starmer�*s hopping mad with the people who did the selection process that that didn't happen. and i suspect behind the scenes there'll be one or two people who are moved on and out of ther way and that would be highly appropriate for that to happen. but it would be dangerously naive for anyone to think that anti—semitism and the huge growth there's been in the last few months is a labour party problem.

this problem is affecting all of our society. it's impacting all the political parties, including the labour party, it's impacting the sports world, the arts world, it's employers, it's universities, its schools. and you know, i am firefighting every day with more and more cases and more serious cases. there is a tornado of antisemitism that has built up and it's really hitting in the last few weeks throughout society. that's the big issue that needs addressing. so labour has its problems and needs to sort them. but this is not a labour problem, this is a problem for the country and it's a growing problem. and extremism is on the growth in this country. and whenever extremism is on the growth, one thing has always been proven in the past, thejewish community bear the brunt, will be at the receiving end of it. that's happening now in our country. and have you spoken to sir keir starmer about this

and about this particular issue? not in the last... ..about ali, no, certainly not. but i've spoken with all the political leaders and i meet them all regularly in all the parties in westminster. and there is a general consensus that they're not going to tolerate antisemitism. i've heard it from sir keir starmer and seen evidence. i've heard it from rishi sunak, i've heard it from sir ed davey, i've heard it from plaid and the scottish national party and some of the other small parties as well. and that is a change of approach and that cross—party resolve to deal with problems in their own parties is vitally important. if that gets broken, that's incredibly dangerous for the country. meanwhile, martin forde kc — who led an inquiry into anti—semitism within the labour party in 2022 — told the bbc that the party's response had been "pretty shambolic".

iam afraid i am afraid it appears pretty shambolic and you have to question house some individuals are selected in the first place. and also the disparity in treatment, when we talked about weaponisation certainly was the perception that anti—semitism was a fraction line. let's speak to russell langer, director of public affairs for the jewish leadership council. he's in london. welcome to the programme, are you satisfied by keir starmer�*s response to the comments of the former mp? it was the right decision to remove support. it was untenable for labour to continue supporting a candidate who had propagated anti—semitic conspiracy theories. keir starmer has done a lot of hard work in recent years to repair the

relationship which was so damaged between the jewish relationship which was so damaged between thejewish community relationship which was so damaged between the jewish community and relationship which was so damaged between thejewish community and the labour party. and that is why it was the only decision that could be taken, they couldn't go on supporting somebody he would propagate anti—semitic conspiracy theories. propagate anti-semitic conspiracy theories. ., ., �* , , theories. you wouldn't be satisfied b the fact theories. you wouldn't be satisfied by the fact that _ theories. you wouldn't be satisfied by the fact that mr _ theories. you wouldn't be satisfied by the fact that mr ali's _ theories. you wouldn't be satisfied by the fact that mr ali's made - theories. you wouldn't be satisfied by the fact that mr ali's made a - by the fact that mr ali's made a very full apology? it by the fact that mr ali's made a very full apology?— by the fact that mr ali's made a very full apology? it comes down to the simle very full apology? it comes down to the simple fact _ very full apology? it comes down to the simple fact that _ very full apology? it comes down to the simple fact that zero _ very full apology? it comes down to the simple fact that zero tolerance l the simple fact that zero tolerance means zero tolerance. while i accept the fact that an apology was made, this is somebody who wanted to be a member of parliament, wanted to be a labour member of parliament and it is not someone who is new to politics, he has been involved in local political positions for many years, is a leader of the labour group on the local council and therefore should know better. unfortunately, it should never got to a point where this person was the candidate in such an important by—election. candidate in such an important by-election-— candidate in such an important by-election. candidate in such an important b -election. �* . by-election. are you concerned it

reflects a wider _ by-election. are you concerned it reflects a wider problem - by-election. are you concerned it reflects a wider problem within i by-election. are you concerned it. reflects a wider problem within the labour party? we reflects a wider problem within the labour party?— reflects a wider problem within the labour party? we are not where we were a few — labour party? we are not where we were a few years — labour party? we are not where we were a few years ago, _ labour party? we are not where we were a few years ago, all— labour party? we are not where we were a few years ago, all political. were a few years ago, all political parties have anti—semitism, there was a particular major issue with the labour party a few years ago. and it is clear that keir starmer has done so much work to turn that round. i'm not suggesting there is going to be no anti—semitism in any political party, this is something we see across society, anti—semitism has been on the rise since october, unfortunately. what is important is how political parties deal with it when it comes up. we saw labour deal with it when it came to another mp a few weeks ago and now we have seen them do it again today. you few weeks ago and now we have seen them do it again today.— them do it again today. you are, thou~h, them do it again today. you are, though. in _ them do it again today. you are, though. in the — them do it again today. you are, though, in the run-up _ them do it again today. you are, though, in the run-up to - them do it again today. you are, though, in the run-up to the - them do it again today. you are, - though, in the run-up to the general though, in the run—up to the general election going to find people expressing a variety of use and i accept conspiracy theories are in a separate candidate, but mps are going to express a variety of views on the conflict in gaza. what is acceptable and what is not? it is

acceptable _ acceptable and what is not? it is acceptable to — acceptable and what is not? it 3 acceptable to treat israel as she would treat any other country around the world and that means looking at what the uk's foreign policy is and finding the appropriate place. what is not acceptable in a single out the world's onlyjewish state and what is not acceptable is go along these narratives thatjewish people control the media and take it a step further because of some conspiratorial idea ofjewish conspiratorial idea of jewish control, conspiratorial idea ofjewish control, that even on the deadliest day forjewish people since the holocaust, that the jewish country was itself responsible for that. that is not serious political debate, it is not serious foreign policy, it is letting, not only the jewish community down, but letting your constituents down and is not something we should be seen in british democracy.— something we should be seen in british democracy. thank you very much indeed _ british democracy. thank you very much indeed for _ british democracy. thank you very much indeed forjoining _ british democracy. thank you very much indeed forjoining us. - nicky campbell has been taking calls getting reaction to the news about labour and rochdale this morning on bbc radio 5 live — and on the programme, saf, a resident of telford,

said this episode has meant that labour could potentially lose both muslim and jewish votes in the election. i am a muslim, normally a labour voter, but because of labour's stance on gaza, not calling for a ceasefire, my heart won't let me vote labour, even though i hate conservatives and i want them out. this particular mp, azhar ali, has thrown a wacky conspiracy theory out there. i think he's done it on purpose. he can't be stupid enough to just go on facebook and, you know, repeat a conspiracy theory knowing that the whole of the uk is, you know, going to be listening to him. i think he's worried about george galloway gaining momentum and he's thrown out an anti—jewish thing, trying to gain muslim supporters. but he's shot himself in the foot and now they are going to lose muslim supporters, the labour party, and they are going to lose jewish supporters. so i'm actually worried now whether labour are actually real contenders to take over the conservatives, because they had this massive lead in the polls, and itjust seems to be diminishing with everything that they do.

steve from guildford says the vetting of candidates by labour party promised after thejeremy corbyn era is not working. we were promised that the labour candidates were vetted to the max to make sure only the best stood. now this man was unveiled very easily, how he stood is beyond me. and what i worry about is, how many more people are standing as a labour candidate or prepared to stand in the next general election with hidden secrets, corbynism, anti—semitism and many issues. because this has shown that the vetting system for the labour party for their mps is not working. and wherever you are you can listen to nicky campbell and bbc radio five live whenever you like on bbc sounds online and on the app. as we mentioned, azhar ali

will still be listed as the labour candidate on the ballot paper because under electoral law it is too late to replace him.let�*s speak to jonathan tonge, professor of politics at university of liverpool. this is an unusual situation to say the least, so what happens now? it is an unprecedented situation, azhar ali, as you say, it will be on the ballot paper and the labour label will appear on the ballot paper as well but he is not the official labour party candidate because the party doesn't back in. it will be interesting to see how many people vote for azhar ali regardless. 0nce those candidates were nominated, nothing can be done and the election goes ahead as per nominations. any party can withdraw support and the green party has withdrawn support for its candidate but the by—election goes ahead as originally

framed. huge embarrassment for labour, bearing in mind labour has one more, an overall majority of the vote, in terms of votes than all the other parties combined. but there is now no official labour candidate. how does this affect the run—up to the general election, which is the important question? it is the general election, which is the important question?— the general election, which is the important question? it is a question whether people _ important question? it is a question whether people believe _ important question? it is a question whether people believe keir - important question? it is a question | whether people believe keir starmer when he says this party is under new management and we have moved on from the anti—semitism, which the allegations of which dogged his predecessor, jeremy corbyn. jeremy corbyn set up the inquiry which found anti—semitism was not rife in the labour party but some people have ignorant attitudes. the human rights commission inquiry into the labour party in 2019 took a more serious view and found the labour party was guilty on some counts of harassing and not dealing properly with some of itsjewish membership. keir starmer wants to leave that all behind. it would have been wiserfor

keir starmer to suspend azhar ali as a labour candidate immediately, those comments about israel, letting hamas attack on october the 7th. in many ways those comments were worse than the comments that did lead to azhar ali's suspension. there is no particular logic in terms of the suspension, they should have acted immediately. it wouldn't have saved labour for the by—election, immediately. it wouldn't have saved labourfor the by—election, that was already done and dusted in terms of the candidates, but nonetheless it would have avoided the charge of indecision that have been labelled at keir starmer now. the question that will be thrown a keir starmer is why he allowed the situation to fester knowing the first comment were causing great damage and defence with some people. {shrew were causing great damage and defence with some people. given the underl in: defence with some people. given the underlying narrative _ defence with some people. given the underlying narrative and _ defence with some people. given the underlying narrative and given - defence with some people. given the underlying narrative and given it - defence with some people. given the underlying narrative and given it is i underlying narrative and given it is there, it is easy to look back and say perhaps he should have acted sooner, why do you think he didn't? i think labour is worried about the muslim vote, one in five voters in rochdale are muslim, they were quite

worried and they hope the situation would die down very quickly. they also put faith in azhar ali's apology and in terms of the selection initially, he appeared a good selection, there was no particular evidence he would be engaged in any form of anti—semitism. he had worked with other faiths regularly, anti—semitism. he had worked with otherfaiths regularly, so he looked a proven quantity and i think the party wanted to back him. it became apparent that after those comments his position was untenable and the leadership waited in situation to worsen. there was always the risk that more comments would be a nurse. i think keir starmer would be hopping mad at all of this, but the fact is but azhar ali made those comments to a lancashire labour party meeting and they should have been reported straightaway to the leadership. the delay has increased the embarrassment and they go into a by—election now, should have been a safe hold, comfortable victories in recent general elections, but now

they have got to wait until the general election before they have a chance of reclaiming rochdale. jonathan, thank you very much indeed. let's speak to anne mcelvoy, who is host of the power play podcast for politico. she's in central london. welcome to the programme. what do you make of this entire episode and the fact that we have been talking about the fact keir starmer took some time to respond and remove the weight to mark that is enough outrage to go round already on this story. i outrage to go round already on this sto . . ~ outrage to go round already on this sto . ., ,, ., ., story. i will take a more bureaucratic _ story. i will take a more bureaucratic view - story. i will take a more bureaucratic view of - story. i will take a more bureaucratic view of it, | story. i will take a more i bureaucratic view of it, but story. i will take a more - bureaucratic view of it, but this is the real problem for keir starmer, so much asjonathan laid out very well, he has failed in this process and i have covered politics for a long time and in a by—election is get messy and the situation on the ground, what candidates say, but

this is such an important issue for labour, it is the issue on which keir starmer chose to clean out his party. i do believe keir starmer will be mad, but more than that, sue gray, chief of staff, this is a test for her, for the communications machine as well. i imagine they will have to have some critical views of those 48 hours, why didn't they find this out earlier and when they did, why was there a kind of paralysis, which was looking at we cannot change the candidate, it is too late, sorry. then they found it was more serious and the blowback, it is going to be very, very damaging for their brand, nationally. the going to be very, very damaging for their brand, nationally.— their brand, nationally. the fact thou . h is their brand, nationally. the fact though is that _ their brand, nationally. the fact though is that this _ their brand, nationally. the fact though is that this conflict - their brand, nationally. the fact though is that this conflict in . their brand, nationally. the fact l though is that this conflict in gaza has the potential and no doubt the conservatives will want to capitalise on this, it has the

potential to cause trouble within the labour party, doesn't it? it does. it has the potential to cause trouble all round. we mustn't forget, the selection of the electorate, the one in five muslim vote in rochdale, i'm not saying everybody thinks the same, but it is a pressure point in labour, and the london mayor taking a different position in gaza, he is going up for election as well. but voters are furious at the labour party backing israel as the conflict intensifies. that is a problem to resolve here but when it tipped on to anything like the attitudes that were being espoused by the now dropped candidate, it is causing too much trouble. a lot of voters will say, this is very messy but is not why i was going to vote labour or conservative. do i trust the party on the economy and the back to

square one argument of rishi sunak. as much as we talk about it all the time there is an inner voice that says, a lot of voters thought, this is about difficult, far away stuff, new home is where i will decide my vote. but nonetheless it was awful for keir starmer when he looked like he was going so well, he was getting the perfect six or thereabouts from the perfect six or thereabouts from theice the perfect six or thereabouts from the ice skating judges and that has dropped dramatically. bud the ice skating judges and that has dropped dramatically.— dropped dramatically. and the concern is _ dropped dramatically. and the concern is going _ dropped dramatically. and the concern is going to _ dropped dramatically. and the concern is going to be - dropped dramatically. and the concern is going to be the - dropped dramatically. and the - concern is going to be the majority, as is projected at the moment is going to narrow and that is not a comfortable position to be in? h0. comfortable position to be in? no, we need to — comfortable position to be in? no, we need to see — comfortable position to be in? no, we need to see if _ comfortable position to be in? mr, we need to see if it reflects more broadly in the polling because it is seen as a trust issue of whether if he eats humble pie and says as a person put it, it was a cluster situation and this has been a malfunction and we are looking at it and we will move on from this but we held up our hands and say

misjudgments were made by me, keir starmer and my team. that seems to be the best option for him. does it impact on the pulse, does it give the conservatives a chance to come back? if it doesn't it to show that it is embarrassingly difficult for labour that the conservatives for themselves and to do not resuscitate its own. it is an interesting test, had it not been for this extraordinary run up to what was intended to be a walk in the park by—election. intended to be a walk in the park by-election-_ intended to be a walk in the park by-election. thank you very much indeed. king charles has returned to london for what is widely expected to be further treatment following his cancer diagnosis. the king and queen camilla flew by helicopter to buckingham palace from their private sandringham home, and from buckingham they were driven the short distance to nearby clarence house. it was announced last week that the king has a "form of cancer" and at the weekend he issued a statement praising

"all those organisations which support cancer patients". he has postponed all public—facing duties, but is continuing with behind—the—scenes work on his red boxes of state papers. and just to give you a reminder of the candidates in the rochdale by—election, the list is on your screen right now. that is not the full list of the candidates! there will be more a little bit later on on the one o'clock news, we will be keeping you up—to—date with the rochdale by—election. now it's time for a look at the weather with elizabeth rizzini. hello there. good afternoon. a very different looking day of weather today for much of england and wales than we saw yesterday. gone are those blue skies. instead, the daffodils languishing underneath rather grey leaden skies. but still the sunshine continues

across much of scotland today and indeed the far north of northern ireland, too. and here is the weather front responsible for the change in our weather. it's a warm front. it's moving further northwards and eastwards as we head through the rest of the afternoon across england and wales. and it's bringing with it some milderfeeling air, but lots of thickening cloud, coastal fog and some showery outbreaks of rain on and off for the rest of the day with brisk south—westerly winds, but still some sunshine for much of northern ireland and from the borders north with some wintry showers still perhaps across the higher ground of western scotland. and overnight tonight, while our weather front continues to push further northward, sending more cloud into northern ireland and perhaps into southern scotland, too, a sharp temperature contrast overnight tonight with temperatures for some in the shelter. for some in the sheltered glens of scotland down as low as minus six degrees celsius, but double figures further south across much of england and wales.

again, the showery outbreaks of rain likely to continue and a few more weather fronts around on wednesday again, or pushing northwards and eastwards. there'll be some heavy rain for a time across northern ireland and into southern scotland is that rain moves further north and bumps into the cold air, feeding it over the higher ground of scotland it's likely that it could turn to snow. there'll also be more rain across the south of england and wales, but in between maybe a few brighter spells and any brightness will help to lift the temperature to 14 or 15 degrees celsius. again, brisk south—westerly winds for some more weather fronts around on thursday. this warm front introducing some very mild feeling. and if we do get any brightness across the south east of england through the day on thursday, temperatures here could rise as high as 16 or 17 degrees celsius. most of the rain on thursday will tend to be towards the north and the west. again, there will be some heavy downpours at times, temperatures well above the seasonal average and starting to rise, too, across the far north of scotland as that rain continues to push further northwards on friday. that rain is mostly pushed out towards the east. there'll be plenty of cloud around some outbreaks of drizzle here and there. the best of any brightness really on friday will tend to be to the south and the west.

again, temperatures mild for the time of year but by. for the time of year.

today at one — questions and criticism for the labour leader — over his handling of the party's candidate for the rochdale by—election as new and anti—semitic comments apparently made at a meeting by azhar ali emerge — the party which initially stood by him — changed its position the labour leader sir keir starmer now under pressure to explain why he first defended his candidate — and then changed his mind

nearly 19 years after she was killed on duty, a murder trial into the death of pc sharon beshenivsky starts in leeds a staple of the british high street — the place for body butters and ethical beauty — the body shop faces a radical restructuring and how one community, fed up of flytipping, took matters into their own hands and coming up on bbc news... leah williamson has been named in the england squad for friendlies against austria and italy. it's herfirst recall since missing the world cup because of injury. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the labour leader is facing criticism for being too slow to withdraw support for the rochdale by—election candidate azhar ali