THE Bury South Labour branch has called on the party to expel Ken Livingstone.

The Constituency Labour Party (CLP) has condemned the National Executive Committee (NEC) for its failure to expel the former Mayor of London, who had come under fire for comments he made regarding Hitler and Zionism.

On Thursday the CLP unanimously agreed: "Our Party can only be credible if it has a zero tolerance of racism.

"This branch deplores the failure of the party to expel Ken Livingstone over his anti-semitic remarks that have caused so much distress to our community, in particular its Jewish members.

"We call on the NEC to do so."

Mr Livingstone was suspended from the Labour Party for two years following comments he made in April last year.

In a radio interview Mr Livingstone said Hitler worked with Zionists in the 1930s before he 'went mad and ended up killing six million Jews'.

He later repeated the remarks in a television interview.

Mr Livingstone was suspended from the party after he made the remarks and his suspension extended following an 11 month investigation.

Cllr Jane Black, chairwoman of the Jewish Labour Movement in the North West Region, which was formed in November last year, said: "In a week where we saw anti-Semitic incidents increase exponentially in the CST report, it is comforting to know that the Labour Party in Bury South stands shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish community in opposing all forms of antisemitism.

"Zero tolerance must mean zero tolerance, and I’m proud the North West is leading this fight."

The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that protects British Jews, reported a 30 per cent increase in antisemitic incidents when comparing the first six months of 2017 and 2016.

In April, Bury Council passed a motion adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism.