Ms Sultana said she will not enter the main conference centre on Saturday in protest at a ‘witch hunt’
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Zarah Sultana has boycotted the first day of the Your Party conference just hours after her co-leader Jeremy Corbyn vowed the pair were united.
Ms Sultana said she will not enter the main conference centre in Liverpool on Saturday in protest at a "witch hunt".
It is understood that one of her supporters, Kingston councillor James Giles, was denied entry to the conference centre, while other members were expelled on Friday over alleged membership of the Socialist Workers Party.
A spokeswoman for Ms Sultana said: "Zarah met members outside the conference and condemned the recent expulsions.
“This witch hunt is indefensible. We must build a party that welcomes all socialists,” she added. “She will not be entering the conference hall today."
It comes just hours after Mr Corbyn affirmed that infighting was over in Your Party as he told members: “Last night here in Liverpool, we had a number of events on and Zarah (Sultana) spoke at a great rally, and I very happily and proudly sent a message to that rally – and I was grateful that it was read out to that rally – of support and solidarity.
“I was at a poetry and music event at the Black E, and Zarah sent a message to that.
“As a party, we’ve got to come together and be united because division and disunity will not serve the interests of the people that we want to represent. So that’s the basis on which we launch the party now.”
The fresh commitment to unity came hours after Mr Corbyn declined to call Ms Sultana a friend when asked during an interview with Sky News. Instead, he said the pair were “colleagues in parliament, and we obviously communicate and so on”.
Two MPs who helped to set up the outfit have also since quit; last week, Iqbal Mohamed said in a statement that he had decided to leave Your Party and continue to serve his Dewsbury and Batley constituency as an independent MP.
Earlier this month, MP Adnan Hussain said he was withdrawing from the party’s “steering process”, citing concerns about factionalism and “veiled prejudice” against Muslims.
This is a breaking news story, more follows...