A no-confidence motion in the Labour MP Luciana Berger has been withdrawn and a meeting to discuss her future has been cancelled after it emerged that one of her key opponents within the local party called her a “disruptive Zionist”.
The decision follows a heated row over the Wavertree MP’s status in the party, with critics claiming she has been disloyal to Jeremy Corbyn and her defenders pointing to persistent antisemitic abuse.
A source close to the Labour leadership said: “It was the right decision.”
It is understood that the decision was made by the Liverpool Wavertree party after considerable pressure from the central party and Corbyn’s office.
Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, wrote to the party’s general secretary, Jennie Formby, to ask her to suspend the Liverpool Wavertree party.
He wrote: “It is clear to me that Luciana Berger is being bullied. This behaviour by her local party is intolerable. The actions of her constituency are not only threatening towards Luciana personally but are bringing our party into disrepute.
“I am therefore requesting that you take the necessary steps to suspend Liverpool Wavertree constituency Labour party (CLP).”
Earlier on Friday he defended Berger in the Commons, saying she had “our solidarity, our support, as she battles the bullying and hatred from members of her own local party.” He added: “They bring disgrace to the party I love.”
Members of the local party told the Guardian that evidence of antisemitism had undermined what some viewed as legitimate criticism of Berger. One member said Kenneth Campbell, a local critic who wrote on Facebook that Berger should be “exposed for the disruptive Zionist she is”, was a member of the “old guard”.
Another source said the constituencies in Liverpool had recently become dominated by the hard left and there had been a “concerted effort to root out those that were anti-Corbyn”.
Others insisted the moves against Berger were not motivated by antisemitism and accused the MP of consistently failing to represent the views of its members and to support the Labour party.
The motion of no confidence in Berger, proposed and seconded by members Howard Sharp and Peter Cain, asked the local party to agree that “Wavertree CLP has no confidence in Luciana Berger as our representative in parliament”.
It added: “Instead of fighting for a Labour government, our MP is continually using the media to criticise the man we all want to be prime minister.”
Campbell, 80, who jointly tabled a second motion to oust Berger with his wife, Agnes, 75, has also previously shared a Facebook post that called the Labour MP Margaret Hodge, who is Jewish, “utterly shameless” and has written posts that allude to the media being controlled by “Zionist masters”.
Berger, often a critic of Corbyn, has faced persistent antisemitic abuse over the last decade, some of it from within her local party. She has been the target of online abuse and had a police escort at last year’s Labour party conference after receiving death threats.
On Friday the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, was criticised for seeking a “loyalty pledge” from Berger. McDonnell said she should reject claims she supported a “breakaway party” to show members she was “sticking with Labour”.
Chris Leslie, the MP for Nottingham East, who is another critic of Corbyn, said McDonnell’s intervention was a mistake. “I, like I think most Labour party members, am watching on with horror at what is happening,” he told the BBC. “John McDonnell was on the radio this morning basically demanding an oath of loyalty from her to those who are attacking her. I’ve never heard of such a ridiculous situation. He should never have allowed his allies to have gone after Luciana like that in the first place.”
Asked if he was thinking about quitting Labour, Leslie – who strongly objects to Corbyn’s position on Brexit – replied: “I’ve said to you, my patience is wearing thin, like a lot of people.”
Votes of no confidence carry no official force within the Labour arty, but local activists could hold a “trigger ballot” – a mechanism by which sitting Labour MPs can be forced to compete for selection as a candidate against all-comersprior to a general election.
Joe Anderson, the mayor of Liverpool, called for calm, asking party members to show unity. He said: “This is just fodder for the rightwing press and to the Tories and we should not be having open public spats. If you disagree with each other there is no need for public confrontations. It is a broad church and we should seek to work in a comradely way.”
Berger responded to the motions of no confidence in her by saying she was “deeply disturbed” by Corbyn’s “lack of response” over the issue.
In an appearance on ITV’s Peston politics programme on Wednesday, she refused to rule out leaving the party, responding to repeated questions by saying: “I’m focused on Brexit, that’s my responsibility as a constituency MP.”