Keir Starmer tells predecessor Jeremy Corbyn that his “days as a Labor MP are over” and says he was “shocked” by the leftist’s refusal in a TV interview to call Hamas a terrorist group

Sir Keir Starmer told Jeremy Corbyn that his “days as a Labor MP were over” as he reacted with anger at his predecessor’s failure to label Hamas a terrorist group.

Declaring that Corbyn would never again represent Labor in the House of Commons, Sir Keir said: “He will not stand as a Labor MP at the next election or any other.”

Sir Keir suspended Corbyn as a Labor MP in 2020 over his predecessor’s claim that the scale of anti-Semitism in the party had been “exaggerated for political reasons”.

He has since begun to prevent Corbyn from standing as Labor’s candidate in the next general election, resulting in the leftist being branded an electoral liability.

Sir Keir’s latest condemnation of the former Labor leader follows Corbyn’s refusal to recognize Hamas as terrorists in an explosive television interview this week.

During a heated clash with TalkTV host Piers Morgan, Corbyn refused 15 times to answer the question whether Hamas was a terrorist group.

This week, during a heated clash with TalkTV host Piers Morgan, Corbyn refused 15 times to answer the question whether Hamas was a terrorist group

During an appearance on The News Agents podcast, Sir Keir was asked about Corbyn’s TV interview.

Asked whether his predecessor’s comments would prevent him from standing as a Labor MP again, Sir Keir said: ‘He will not stand as a Labor MP at the next election or any other election. His days as a Labor MP were over. We have a changed party.

“I was surprised and shocked [by the interview] just like I think anyone else would.

“It confirmed in me why it is so important to me and to this changed Labor Party that Jeremy Corbyn does not sit as a Labor MP and will not be a candidate in the next Labor election.

“We have changed so much as the Labor Party.”

Sir Keir has faced deep divisions within the Labor Party since Hamas carried out a terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, prompting weeks of Israeli military action in Gaza.

On Wednesday evening, Sir Keir suffered a huge revolt in the House of Commons when 56 of his MPs defied him and supported calls for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

He also lost 10 frontmen after they broke the three-line whip and disregarded Sir Keir’s orders not to support an immediate and complete cessation of hostilities.

The Labor leader said many of his party colleagues were experiencing “emotional turmoil” over the conflict in the Middle East and were facing “horrendous abuse”.

“I think there has been a lot of pressure on a lot of us over the last few weeks,” added Sir Keir.

“These were the discussions I had with my colleagues on Wednesday, because in addition to the emotional turmoil these people are going through, some of them have rebelled.

“But they are good people trying to cope with a very difficult situation, and many of them have been victims of terrible abuse.

“And this is very difficult and concerns me on behalf of my colleagues with whom I have been talking, trying to convince them to stick to the party line.

“They faced extremely difficult circumstances. Circumstances they probably haven’t encountered before in public life.

Sir Keir has maintained his position of wanting a humanitarian “pause” – not a complete ceasefire – during the Middle East crisis and has repeatedly expressed his support for Israel’s right to self-defense in the wake of Hamas attacks.

During the podcast, he insisted he was “not daunted” by the possibility of becoming Britain’s next prime minister.

Sir Keir said his “only concern” was for the family, adding: “I have always been concerned about them.

“I have a wife who has her own life and I have to make sure she can live the way she wants.

“I have two children, a 15-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl. And my biggest fear is that the only concern I have going forward is constantly asking myself, especially right now, how do I protect them as we get into this case.

* Listen to Sir Keir Starmer’s full interview on The News Agents podcast tonight at Global player