Labour leadership hopeful Jess Phillips took a swipe at some her fellow contenders for keeping quiet over anti-Semitism in the party.
Rebecca Long-Bailey, Emily Thornberry and Keir Starmer are all in Jeremy Corbyn's top team, while the fifth candidate, Lisa Nandy, is a backbencher.
Speaking at the first hustings in Liverpool, she said: “The Labour Party needs a leader who has spoken out against anti-Semitism, and other forms of harassment in fact.
“When others were keeping quite and somebody who was in the room, struggling for an independent system – lots and lots of meetings – I have to say I don’t remember some of the people here being in that particular room or being in those particular fights.”
Ms Phillips said that the Labour Party’s handling of anti-Semitism had meant it had lost the “moral high ground” to fight racism.
She added: “Jewish people were scared of Labour winning the election.
“That’s deeply serious. The Labour Party has now lost the credibility to handle its own complaints system.
“We have lost the moral high ground to fight racism in this country because of the way we have handled anti-Semitism.”
Emily Thornberry said she had always been clear about standing up against racism.
She said that the Labour Party should kick out anti-Semites in the same way “Oswald Mosley was kicked out of Liverpool”.
Ms Thornberry added: “I tell you what Jess {Phillips], I have always been clear about it and I always will because it’s unacceptable, it undermines us as a party and undermines our soul.
“What we should be doing is kicking out these anti-Semites in the same way Oswald Mosley was kicked out of Liverpool in 1937.”
Sir Keir also hit back at Ms Phillips's comments, saying: "I have spoken out. I’ve spoken out on the radio, on the media.
"I've spoken out about rule changes I thought we should adopt about the international definition of anti-Semitism.
"I've also made those arguments in Shadow Cabinet."
Ms Long-Bailey had already given her answer on the question when Ms Phillips spoke.
Ms Phillips also hinted at disapproval of some of Ms Long-Bailey's policy to replace the Lords with an elected Senate based outside London.
Ms Phillips said: "We've got to speak the language people speak on the doorstep.
"No one talks about federalism or wanting this Senate or that Senate. We've got to start talking like people talk, about the things they actually talk about."
