Labour Party knew about comments by Nasreen Khan who said Hitler was not the “bad guy” and Jews are “playing victims”, but shortlisted her anyway

The Labour Party has refused to comment on the shortlisting of Nasreen Khan as one of two people to be selected as a candidate for a safe council seat in Bradford.

Ms Khan previously wrote on Facebook: “It’s such a shame that the history teachers in our school never taught us this but they are the first to start brainwashing us and our children into thinking the bad guy was Hitler. What have the Jews done good in this world??” When another user remonstrated with her, she retorted: “No, I’m not a Nazi, I’m an ordinary British Muslim that had an opinion and put it across. We have worse people than Hitler in this world now.” As her comments drew further opprobrium, she wrote: “Stop beating a dead horse. The Jews have reaped the rewards of playing victims. Enough is enough!!”

At the time, she was a member of George Galloway’s now-defunct Respect Party, which said that she “deeply regrets and repudiates” the comments. She has now told the Telegraph and Argus, which broke the news of her shortlisting as a Labour Party candidate in the forthcoming council elections in Bradford. Ms Khan told the paper: “I have been honest, frank and held my hand up regarding comments I made on Facebook over five years ago. I was challenged immediately about my language and apologised straight away. I accept fully that it was inappropriate and unacceptable. I have travelled a long way since then and learned so much. I profoundly regret the comments I made in 2012 and any offence they caused.”

Some journalists were so shocked by the story that they doubted it could be true. Andrew Neil tweeted: “Is it really true she was adopted as a Labour candidate, even in full knowledge of this quote? Surely fake news.”

Extraordinarily, the Jewish News has now revealed that the Labour Party knew about Ms Khan’s past comments, and refused to take them into account unless new information emerged. The Labour Party refused to comment.

The Jewish News also reveals that Ms Khan had edited her comments to replace the word “Zionist” with “Jews” because she believed that “Zionist” is a “term of abuse”. In her defence, the Jewish News says that Ms Khan added that others in the party had said “as bad or worse”.

Once again, the Labour Party has shown that it is incapable of resisting the urge to find a place for those whose views on Jews, whether past or present, constitute vile antisemitism and Holocaust denial.