SUSPENDED Labour MP Andy McDonald has taken legal action against a Tory MP who accused him of using anti-semitic tropes and supporting Hamas.

Mr McDonald said today that Heywood and Middleton MP Chris Clarkson had posted a “highly defamatory statement” about him on social media.

Mr Clarkson’s post related to the same speech which saw Mr McDonald suspended from the Labour whip by Sir Keir Starmer —  to widespread outrage — for calling for Israelis and Palestinians “between the river and the sea” to be able to live in peace.

“I am not prepared to stand by while an MP or others peddle the lie that I have sought to justify the actions of Hamas, including the awful murder of 1,400 people in Israel,” Mr McDonald said.

“Much of what I have said in the last few days about the recent events in Israel and Palestine has been deliberately distorted and misrepresented.”