Labour defends Sagal Abdi-Wali after she is attacked by the far right as a former Somali who is “being foisted on electors”

The spokesman for the far right Reform party on Home Affairs, Zia Yusuf, has used his Twitter account to attack Sagal Abdi-Wali.

This attack, by such a senior Reform Party spokesman, is extraordinary. Zia Yusuf is himself the son of Sri Lankan Muslims who came to Britain – just as Sagal’s family did.

Sagal, who has yet to be selected to replace Keir Starmer, but is indeed the frontrunner, has been defended by the Labour Party. The former leader of Camden Council, Georgia Gould, now the British government’s minister for schools, came to Sagal’s support.

Georgia Gould is not alone. Dawn Butler wrote to the Reform party on behalf of the London Labour Party, calling on Zia Yusuf to apologise.