Top Jewish donor suspended by Labour for article comparing Jeremy Corbyn team to ‘Nazi stormtroopers’
Party said Michael Foster said he allegedly breached election rules which ban ‘abuse of any kind’
LABOUR has suspended a prominent Jewish donor over an article which seemed to compare Jeremy Corbyn's leadership bid team to Nazi stormtroopers.
Michael Foster said they had "no respect for others and worse, no respect for the rule of law", with the party saying he allegedly breached election rules which ban "abuse of any kind".
He said the word "Nazi" was not actually included in his article, and had been added to its headline by the Mail on Sunday, which was titled: "'Why I despise Jeremy Corbyn and his Nazi stormtroopers', by Jewish Labour donor."
It was published on August 14, after the High Court ruled against him after he attempted to stop Labour from allowing Mr Corbyn to automatically stand for re-election as leader.
Mr Foster said his remarks clearly referred to Mr Corbyn's "leadership cadre", which could also be likened to the "Pretorian Guard or Revolutionary Guard or Red Guard - a group there to secure the leader and his political plans".
Mr Foster, a former showbusiness agent who unsuccessfully stood as a Labour candidate in last year’s General Election, wrote: "To me, respect for the rule of law is fundamental to a democracy.
“Once political parties believe they are above the law it ends with all opposition silenced, whether it is my grandparents in Dachau, or the Left in Erdogan's Turkey rounded up and held uncharged in prison.
"The courts decided that the rules as they stand allowed it. This decision advantaged Corbyn and his Sturm Abteilung (stormtroopers)..."
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Labour said Mr Foster, who has donated more than £400,000 to the party in the past two-and-a-half years, was suspended on September 7 for breaking rules governing the leadership election.
And a letter signed by general secretary Iain McNicol said the claim related to the article published last month, and confirmed he cannot take part in the leadership vote until the issue is resolved.
A spokesperson said the party did not comment on individual cases.