Claiming that she holds “no brief for the rightwing Hindu nationalist whose catastrophic pandemic mismanagement, misogyny and Islamophobia I find indefensible”, Chakrabarti questioned the photo and caption in the leaflet which features the photograph of Modi and Johnson shaking hands along with the caption that said don’t risk a Tory MP “who is not on your side.”
“Labour’s leaflet featuring Boris Johnson shaking hands with Indian premier Narendra Modi was a mistake for which the party must apologise.”
In a column in The Guardian, Chakrabarti wrote: “What was this photo and its caption, “the risk of voting for anyone but Labour is clear”, supposed to indicate? That a Labour prime minister or foreign secretary would never shake such a hand or attempt to negotiate trade, or peace, or a shamefully belated vaccine patent waiver with one of the largest nations in the global south?”
Slamming the Labour party’s tactic to attract some 8,600 Muslim voters, mostly of Pakistani origin, using the leaflet, Chakrabarti said the party’s choice of photo and the caption suggest that it assumed people vote solely on communal lines.
“There is no point in proclaiming zero tolerance for antisemitism and all forms of racism among party members if Labour undermines attempts at trying to explain the nuances of modern racism and stereotyping come election time,” former director of Liberty wrote in the column.
In the by-election held last week, Labour party candidate Kim Leadbeater won the seat by a narrow margin, thus hanging on to a parliamentary seat that if lost, would have heaped pressure on Labour party leader Keir Starmer to stand down.
“Let the Battle for Batley of 2021 be remembered as a nadir in national discourse from which we learned and recovered, if only in the Labour party,” the 52-year-old said.
Chakrabarti also lambasted George Galloway over his “toxic” campaign during which he stoked “homophobic sentiment” when he described himself as a “straight white man with six children” who would not stand “for BBC trying to teach our young children that there are 99 genders”.
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)