A former British minister for Middle East policy has urged people not to vote for him or the Labour candidate in his electorate in next week's election, and to back Boris Johnson's Conservatives.
Ivan Lewis was the Foreign Office minister for the region from 2008 until Labour lost power in the 2010 election.
Mr Lewis was running again in his Bury South seat as an independent after quitting the Labour Party during a disciplinary dispute over allegations of harassment.
Labour officials hit back, claiming his history made him unfit to make allegations of discrimination.
The former minister was joined by Joan Ryan, a former MP, in turning against his old party.
There are now six former MPs warning against backing Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, over concerns of anti-Semitism.
In a video plea on Facebook, Mr Lewis said it was imperative that the Conservatives won the election.
He said institutionalised racism had taken root in the party he represented as an MP since 1987.
"It is now clear that the best way to stop Corbyn in Bury South is to vote Conservative and support their candidate, Christian Wakeford," Mr Lewis said.
"Many will be voting Conservative for the first time and it will require much soul-searching. But it is the right thing to do."
We welcome Ivan Lewis’ withdrawal from the Bury South election. As to his support for the Tory candidate, it’s rather disingenuous given that @Lucy4BurySouth is a member of OL and supports our stance against antisemitism. @VoteLabour @VoteLucy4BurySouth
— Open Labour (@OpenLabour) December 4, 2019
A reported 70 Labour whistle-blowers have given evidence to an Equality and Human Rights Commission inquiry into the allegations.
