Uk politics

Theresa May's widely-praised handling of the Salisbury poisoning hit a bump in the road this afternoon with the news that British scientists at Porton Down have not been able to establish that the Novichok nerve agent used to poison Sergei and Yulia Skripal was made in Russia. In a clumsy interview, Gary Aitkenhead, the chief executive of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at the facility in Wiltshire, said although the nerve agent was identified as Novichok, scientists had not been able to prove it was created in Russia. The government were quick to go into damage control mode - making clear that this was 'only one part of the intelligence picture' and it did not alter their verdict that the only plausible explanation was that Russia was responsible for the attack.

After a weekend of horrid headlines for Labour over anti-Semitism, Jeremy Corbyn is keen to be seen to be talking tough on the issue. The Labour leader has told Channel 4 news that his party will not be 'tolerating anti-Semitism in any form' and Momentum – the pro-Corbyn grassroots group – has acknowledged that 'accusations of anti-Semitism should not and cannot be dismissed simply as right-wing smears'. Only, despite this, Corbyn appears to have gone one step forward and two steps back. Guido reports that the Labour leader tonight attended a Seder in Islington held by 'Jewdas'. Jewdas are a 'radical Jewish diaspora group' who sit on the fringes of the Jewish community. Jewdas have previously said Israel 'needs to be properly disposed of'.

A Times/YouGov poll at the weekend found that nearly eight out of ten Labour members believe that accusations of anti-Semitism within the Labour party in the last fortnight are being exaggerated to damage Jeremy Corbyn and prevent criticism of Israel. So, it seems an opportune time to share Andrew Neil's helpful explainer on what anti-Semitism is and where it leads, from This Week: 'An evil demon we thought had been slain – anti-Semitism – pollutes society on both sides of the channel once more. I was told today that polls and focus groups show that many Brits, not just the young, don't know what anti-Semitism is. Well, gather round. Mireille Knoll was 85 in a wheelchair suffering from Parkinsons, she'd survived the holocaust.

After a torrid few weeks for the Labour party over alleged incidents of anti-Semitism, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel – at least for the party's moderates. As allegations of anti-Semitism in Labour spiralled, Corbyn’s close ally Christine Shawcroft had to resign on Wednesday as chair of Labour’s disputes panel for defending a candidate who posted a Holocaust denial article. Now Shawcroft has also resigned from her position on the party's ruling committee.