KEIR Starmer faces a sizeable rebellion from Labour’s left over his decision to sack Rebecca Long-Bailey for sharing an article that contained an “antisemitic conspiracy theory”.

The party leader has been publicly criticised by some of his own MPs and MSPs, and some Jeremy Corbyn supporters have even quit over the unexpected dismissal.

Long-Bailey sparked a row on Thursday morning when she tweeted an interview with Maxine Peake, where the actress, wrongly, claimed the US police had learned the tactics used in death of George Floyd from the Israeli secret service.

Starmer held a video conference with a number of the campaign group of left-wing MPs on Friday morning, including Corbyn and John McDonnell.

Allies of the leader of the opposition described his actions as “constructive and businesslike”.

On Thursday evening, McDonnell had shared a petition calling for Long-Bailey’s reinstatement, which had gathered almost 10,000 signatures by yesterday morning.

He tweeted: “Throughout discussion of antisemitism it’s always been said criticism of practices of Israeli state is not antisemitic.

“I don’t believe therefore that this article is or @RLong_Bailey should’ve been sacked. I stand in solidarity with her.”

Yesterday morning, Labour MSP Neil Findlay tweeted: “I stand with @RLong_Bailey just as I stood with @JeremyCorbyn.

“I stood with Tony Benn. I stood with Tam Dalyell. I support those who stick to their principles and the cause of socialism, like them I won’t leave, I will stay and argue the case for radical change – let’s organise.”

Khosrow Zanganeh, a former chair of Scottish Young Labour, very publicly resigned his membership of the party.

He said: “I joined the party after being inspired by Jeremy Corbyn and the wider vision he had for the country. From all I have seen from the trends of the party as it stands I don’t see the promise of that vision any longer.

“There are fundamental problems with the approach of the current leadership and policies they have chosen to pursue.

“Their evident and abhorrent disregard and poisonous attitude towards left-wing and left-leaning members has been far too much to tolerate.”

He added: “To leave the first political party I felt was standing up for me and for what I believe in is heart breaking but at the same time

I don’t think I would be true to myself if I stayed in.”

Former Scottish Labour MP Danielle Rowley tweeted: “It would be great to see Keir speaking to activists who were campaigning tirelessly for Labour in December.

“Many of them have now left. I’ve seen 4 saying they’re leaving the party in the past few hours.

“We can’t afford to lose or alienate our members.”

In her Independent interview, Peake said: “The tactics used by the police in America, kneeling on George Floyd’s neck, that was learnt from seminars with Israeli secret services.” The article clarified: “A spokesperson for the Israeli police has denied this.”

Long-Bailey tweeted the article along with the comment: “Maxine Peake is an absolute diamond.”

A spokesperson for Starmer said Long-Bailey had been asked to “step down from the shadow cabinet” as the article she shared “contained an antisemitic conspiracy theory”.