The anti-Semitism row engulfing Labour took a new turn today when Israel’s ambassador to Britain said some elements of the left are “in denial” about prejudice against Jews.

Mark Regev said the language used in the past two weeks had been “very concerning” and said some Labour figures had crossed from simply being critical of the Israeli government to “demonising and vilifying” the Jewish state, and perpetuating racist stereotypes.

His intervention came as Diane Abbott came out fighting against “smears” against Labour.

Today Regev told the Andrew Marr Show: “There’s a difference between legitimate criticism and hate speech”, he told the Andrew Marr Show.

“Just as there’s no justification for hating blacks or hating homosexuals, there’s no justification for hating Jews and that is the red line that simply can’t be crossed.”

Regev was speaking just a day after Israeli Labour leader Isaac Herzog described Ken Livingstone’s comments as “horrific”.

Corbyn has repeatedly condemned anti-Semitism and on Friday night launched an “action plan” to deal with the prejudice, as well as an independent inquiry.

Regev’s intervention came as: