AN INVESTIGATION is being demanded after a left wing activist was suspended from the Labour Party following an allegedly anti-Semitic tweet.

On Thursday morning Daniel Harris, who has said he intended to stand for election to Brighton and Hove City Council, posted a bizarre video with councillors’ faces superimposed on the heads of animated dancing Jewish figures.

He tagged the post “The Dancing Brighton and Hove councillors,” adding “#Funny”.

The three councillors were Caroline Penn, Anne Meadows and Warren Morgan, two of who have close family ties to the Jewish community. Councillor Meadows said she was “deeply shocked and offended” by the post.

Councillor Penn called it attempted bullying which was deeply upsetting and offensive. Councillor Morgan warned people not to cause offence.

The tweet was hastily deleted and a benign replacement featuring Christmas elves uploaded in its place.

The post was strongly condemned from many quarters but some spoke up for Mr Harris on a Facebook group for Kemp Town Labour members.

In a discussion one contributor wrote: “Is the council worried about not being able to continue with their affiliation with Zionists and their corrupt ways?”

Another wrote: “Daniel gets suspended for posting a happy Hanukkah card to some of our councillors.

“This apparently is anti Semitism.”

A majority of posts condemned the tweet.

Ivor Caplin, former council leader and spokesman for the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) said: “The posting of that video on social media is without question anti-Semitic.

“The JLM has submitted a formal complaint this morning on the matter.

“There are people who think they can defend Dan Harris for this anti-Semitic trope – there may need to be a wider investigation by the party.”

A spokeswoman for the Sussex Jewish Representative Council, which called the post a “crass uneducated insult”, said: “If there is clear evidence of support from other party members then we would welcome a wider investigation.”

Peter Kyle MP, who welcomed Mr Harris’s suspension, said: “I think the Labour Party should be honouring its word that it will root out anti-Semitism and hate in all its forms, wherever it finds it.”

A Labour spokesman confirmed the suspension, adding: “The party takes all complaints extremely seriously.”

In a blog post Mr Harris wrote he deplored all forms of racism, adding: “The posts were meant to be a bit of fun not racist, they were purchased online and are available to anyone with £1.99.”

The video was created online. The firm Office Depot has for years had an app which allows users to add their faces to the bodies of animated dancing elves.

A Jewish themed version, with Stars of David and menorahs, was created in conjunction with an American entrepreneur, to add a Hanukkah rather than Christmas option.

It was this template to which Harris added the faces of the three councillors.