Jeremy Corbyn risks sparking fury as he makes activist who defended members suspended from the party over anti-Semitism a peer

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Jeremy Corbyn has made an activist who compared the Labour anti-Semitism row to the Salem Witch Trials a peer, it has emerged.

The party leader has appointed the left-wing activist Martha Osmaor to the House of Lords - U-turning on his pledge not to create any new Labour peers.

But the move sparked fury after it emerged she has previously signed an open letter defending activists suspended over the anti-Semitism row.  

The letter said allegations of anti-Semitism were being made to 'silence criticisms of Israel, hamper the work of Momentum activists, and undermine Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn'.    

Gideon Falter, Chairman of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: 'Mr Corbyn has promised action, not just words, against antisemitism in the Labour Party. 

'Today his actions speak louder than ever. By elevating Ms Osamor to the peerage, Mr Corbyn has sent an unmistakable signal to those in the Jewish community who still harboured some hope that he might change. 

'Mr Corbyn is telling us not only that he sees her behaviour as unproblematic, but that he sees it as being worthy of the highest honour and a lifelong seat in the House of Lords. 

'Yet again, Mr Corbyn has sent the Jewish community a two-fingered salute, and the Labour Party has looked on inertly.'     

Jeremy Corbyn (pictured left) has made left-wing activist Martha Osmaor (pictured left) to the House of Lords - U-turning on his pledge not to create any new Labour peers

Mr Corbyn has also made former Labour party general secretary Ian McNicol and campaigner and occasional Morning Star columnist Pauline Bryan peers.  

The letter, published in June 2016, accused party members who spoke out against the abuse of fuelling a 'hysterical atmosphere'.

And it tore into John Mann, a Labour MP  and leading campaigner against anti-Semitism, for 'haranguing and insulting' Ken Livingstone, who was suspended from Labour after saying Adolf Hitler supported Zionism.

The decision to make Ms Osmaor - who is mother to the Labour frontbencher Kate Osmaor - a peer risks sparking a fresh anti-Semitism row in the party.

The letter states: 'We also register our concerns about the suspensions of Ken Livingstone, Simon Hinds, Tony Greenstein, David White and others. 

'We are disappointed that the appalling behaviour of John Mann MP, haranguing and insulting Ken Livingstone, a senior citizen, and calling him a liar and Nazi apologist in front of cameras, has not led to reproach or censure from the Labour Party and its Compliance Unit, even though the behaviour brought the Labour Party into disrepute. 

'John Mann MP is an elected representative of the Party, and his behaviour fell far short of the standards expected of elected representatives.'

They said allegations of anti-Semitism are being used to 'stifle the sharing of information' and free speech. 

It adds: 'Allegations are also being made to silence criticisms of Israel, hamper the work of Momentum activists, and undermine Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn....

'This is reminiscent of the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts, rather than of calm, rational consideration.'

The open letter was signed by over two dozen activists.

Mr Corbyn has been dogged by accusations that he has willfully failed to tackle anti-Semitism among his supporters.

And Jewish MPs within his own parties have shamed him by telling of the flood of abuse and death threats they received for daring to speak out. 

But after a mass rally by Jewish leaders near the gates of Parliament he has vowed to act.   

Ms Osamor today scrambled to insist that she has always opposed anti-Semitism 

She said: 'I am and always have been implacably opposed to anti-Semitism and have spent my life as an anti-racist campaigner.

'As Jeremy has said clearly, raising concerns about antisemitism is not a smear. 

'I welcome Jennie Formby's recent actions as Labour's new General Secretary to ensure there is no place for antisemitism in the Labour Party.' 

Ms Osamor is a leading black activist and campaigner in Tottenham, north London, and has criticised policing in the area.

In an interview she said that police reacted 'very badly' to the death of Cynthia Jarret in a police raid Broadwater Farm Estate in Tottenham, north London, in 1985.

Theresa May (pictured today in Wales)  is also set to appoint another nine Tories to the unelected Chamber to beef up her ranks after suffering a slew of defeats on the Brexit Bill.

The death triggered massive riots on the estate  which resulted in the death of Pc Keith Blakelock.   

More recently, she has campaigned about the treatment of the family of Mark Duggan - whose death triggered the 2011 riots - by the police.

Mr Duggan was shot dead by armed officers in Tottenham in August 2011, triggering a wave of riots in the area that then spread across the UK. 

Mr Corbyn also appointed Mr McNicol to House of Lords - just months after he was forced out of his job as party general secretary by his allies.

Asked directly in 2015 if 'as leader' he would ever appoint any peers, Mr Corbyn replied: 'I don't see any case for nominating peers at all – I see no case for it, that is my position.' 

Meanwhile, Mrs May used her powers of patronage to appoint nine Tory peers to beef up her ranks after suffering a slew of defeats on the Brexit Bill.

They include former Cabinet ministers Peter Lilley and Eric Pickles, who was also chairman of the Tory party. 

While Andrew Tyrie, the former Tory MP and ex chairman of the Treasury select committee, is also being made a peer.

Meanwhile, a former Democratic Unionist Party MP and nine Conservatives, including at least two former Cabinet ministers, are also to become peers.  

Rev William McCrea, a former Democratic Unionist Party MP who once shared a platform with the Unionist sectarian murderer Billy 'King Rat' Wright, will also be made a peer.

In 1996, Rev McCrea stood at a Portadown rally alongside Wright, who was a commander in the Ulster Volunteer Force. 

Wright helped wage a bloody campaign against the Catholic population in the mid-1980s and was eventually murdered in 1997 in Belfast's infamous Maze prison. 

The House of Lords is the world's second largest parliamentary Chamber - only behind China's National People's Congress.

The House of Lords is the world's second largest parliamentary Chamber - only behind China's National People's Congress. It is facing mounting calls for reform

And there has been growing calls for the unelected Chamber to be reformed and its numbers slashed.

Research  has found that each peers costs taxpayers an estimated £83,000 a year.

While some are said to use parliament as a glorified members club - popping in to pic up their generous expenses allowance and enjoying its subsidised bars but rarely speaking in debates.

And the Chamber has come under fresh pressure amid accusations it is overstepping its authority by trying to water down Brexit.

Peers inflicted 15 defeats on the Government's crucial Brexit Bill.

And critics have said the move has fundamentally tarnished the  chamber's reputation.