John McDonnell is facing accusations of hypocrisy as it emerged that he is president of a group that is campaigning in support of Labour figures accused of anti-Semitism and verbal abuse of an MP.
The shadow chancellor is president of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), which has posted a statement on its website declaring that Ken Livingstone, the former London Mayor, was the victim of a "witch hunt" and that the controversial comments over which he resigned, were "not remotely antisemitic."
In May Mr McDonnell pledged to "call out" hard-left websites propagating anti-Semitism. The Telegraph's disclosures prompted calls by Labour MPs for him to resign from the group.
In response, his...