THE deputy leader of Green Party has called on the prime minister to apologise after Keir Starmer appeared to endorse false claims about him in parliament.
Mothin Ali, a Green Party councillor, said he was now living in fear. "It feels like this time it might get me killed," he said. Among the threatening messages seen by the Guardian were warnings including "we know where to find you" and "you have no idea what's coming."
The threats followed Ali's attendance at an anti-war demonstration in Parliament Square last Saturday (28). The protest, organised by the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Interventions (CASMII) with support from Stop the War Coalition and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, was against US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
However, media outlets falsely portrayed it as a rally in support of the Iranian regime.
Tory MP Alec Shelbrooke raised the matter in the Commons on Monday (2), telling Starmer he was "appalled" to see the Green deputy leader "protesting in support of the ayatollah."
Without offering any evidence, he also appeared to link Ali with antisemitism. The remarks were made under parliamentary privilege, which protects MPs from legal action over what they say in the chamber.
Starmer responded by saying he thought "we were all shocked by the actions of the deputy leader of the Green party, although perhaps not surprised, given that party's recent turn of direction."
Ali strongly denied the characterisation. "I'm an anti-war activist. I got involved in politics because of anti-war stuff. I was there to call out the illegal attacks and to raise my voice against Britain getting involved," he was quoted as saying.
Green MP Ellie Chowns defended her colleague in parliament, saying Ali had "attended a CND Stop the War anti-war protest in support of his principles of being anti-war and pro democracy and diplomacy."
Images and footage from the rally showed that while a small number of placards from the Islamic Human Rights Commission featured a picture of Ayatollah Khamenei, the overwhelming majority of banners were anti-war in nature.
Protesters were heard chanting "Labour party, war party," and those present included members of Jewish Network for Palestine and the Women of Colour section of Global Women's Strike.
Prof Abbas Edalat, founder of CASMII, was clear about the protest's purpose. "It was a rally against the US and Israeli attack, now supported by the UK government, against Iran. That was the central slogan — against the illegal, unprovoked attack on Iran," he said.
Ali believes Starmer's remarks were politically motivated, coming just days after the Greens won the Gorton and Denton by-election in Manchester, where Hannah Spencer became the party's fifth MP.
"It doesn't just affect me, it affects my family, it affects everyone's campaigns I'm supposed to be working on," he said.
The incident is not the first time Ali has faced hostility. Since his election to Leeds City Council in 2024 — when he ended his victory speech with "Allahu Akbar," meaning "God is great" — he has been targeted repeatedly by far-right agitators.
He was falsely accused by Tommy Robinson of involvement in disorder in his ward in 2024, when in fact he had stood in front of police to protect them and urged local residents to step back from violence.
Starmer and Shelbrooke have been contacted for comment.
