Channel 4 appoints figure who defended Jeremy Corbyn over antisemitism allegations to its board

Channel 4 has appointed to its board a figure who defended Jeremy Corbyn over antisemitism allegations.

Tess Alps, a former chairman of the TV advertising industry body ThinkBox and member of the Labour Party, has been made a non-executive director of the channel.

When the Labour Party under Mr Corbyn was accused of racism towards Jews – allegations that were confirmed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) following an investigation in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant – Ms Alps defended Mr Corbyn.

In 2019, Ms Alps reportedly said, in connection with Labour antisemitism,: “I would be only too happy to change my mind if I saw proper evidence. Being pro-Palestinian rights or anti current Israeli government practice is not the same thing at all. I feel the hurt of my many Jewish friends, some of whom have been subject to shocking abuse, but…”

She then apparently asked her interlocutor on Twitter to send her a direct message so that they could continue the exchange privately.

Her appointment, which is controversial for other comments that she has made as well, comes at a sensitive time for the channel, as the Government considers the possibility of privatising it.

Ms Alps reportedly said in a statement that she always supports the leader of the Labour Party and claimed that Mr Corbyn “didn’t stop some of the terrible things that might have happened, but that is not the same as being the author of them.”

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