A POLITICIAN suspended from Labour over the sharing of allegedly anti-Semitic material will once again represent the party on the city council.

Councillor Anne Pissaridou was suspended from the Labour Party in 2020 over posts on social media.

But the local Labour Party feel she has now "made conscious and sustained efforts to educate herself on issues around anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic tropes".

She will now be allowed to be a Labour councillor once again.

A Labour spokesman: "She has also begun rebuilding trust with the members of the local Jewish community and has apologised wholeheartedly for her actions that led to her initial suspension from the Labour Party.

"The Labour group are clear that whilst we welcome the rehabilitative steps Cllr Pissaridou has taken, there is an ongoing learning journey we must all continuously take to improve our efforts to be proactive anti-racists and ever vigilant in the face of anti-Semitism."

The spokesman added there is no room for anti-Semitism or any other form of racism in the party, on the council or in Brighton and Hove.

Cllr Pissaridou, who represents North Portslade, was allowed back into the national Labour Party last year, prompting councillor Peter Atkinson to quit the party.

At the time of his resignation, Cllr Atkinson, who also represents North Portslade, said: "The Labour Party and Keir Starmer have actually dealt with the problem of anti-Semitism in the party very robustly on the whole.

"Cllr Pissaridou was only temporarily suspended, however.

"I can’t change that decision but I can take a decision of my own not to share a political space with her in the same ward."

Cllr Pissaridou has been the face of many controversial council decisions in recent years, including the Old Shoreham Road cycle lane.

She will officially be readmitted to the Brighton and Hove Labour group on February 7.

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