A long-serving town councillor has apologised for a Facebook post she made about a candidate in the run-up to a by-election.

Sandra Parnell, a Conservative councillor at Elstree & Borehamwood Town Council, described Labour candidate Dan Ozarow as the "worst anti-semite" in February this year.

She was responding to another Facebook post calling for people in Borehamwood not to vote for Dr Ozarow.

That post was by Hertfordshire Friends of Israel and referred to the fact Dr Ozarow is a "keen supporter" of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell.

The post also mentioned a letter, which resurfaced in the run-up to the election, Dr Ozarow had signed in 2015 which the Jewish Chronicle says had also been signed by anti-Israel activists.

Dr Ozarow, who is Jewish, claimed he "never saw the final text" of the letter which argued that Jeremy Corbyn had "nothing to apologise for" in his meetings with representatives of terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

Cllr Parnell wrote on her personal Facebook page; a page which is not associated to her role as a town councillor, said: "People like these are the worst antisemites. Please don't be fooled. Anyone that stands for the Labour Party are hiding what they actually stand for. Don't be fooled. Residents in Borehamwood know already what Labour stands for. That is something we don't want to be associated with."

Borehamwood Times:

This is the post that Cllr Parnell has apologised for

Last week, Cllr Parnell, who is also Jewish, wrote an apology on her private Facebook page.

She wrote: On Feb(ruary) 11th 2020, during the by-election to Hertsmere Borough Council, I published a social media post about a Dr Daniel Ozarow, the Labour party candidate. I accept this post was ill judged and I apologise unreservedly."

Borehamwood Times:

Cllr Parnell's apology

Cllr Parnell, who had received a letter from Dr Ozarow's lawyers, is set to make a donation to the Holocaust Educational Trust.

Dr Ozarow lost the February by-election in Kenilworth to the Conservative candidate Brett Rosehill.

But he reported to the Hertsmere Conservatives to police for "inciting racial hatred" leading up to the election.

Dr Ozarow did receive abuse via email and on Facebook, which he alleges came from supporters of the Hertsmere Conservatives - an allegation which has been continuously refuted by the Tories.

He accused the Tories of a "vicious smear campaign" against him.

Following Cllr Parnell's apology, Dr Ozarow said: "The smear campaign and anti-Semitic hatred that my family and I suffered brought us great distress and was very hurtful. I am pleased that Cllr Parnell has acknowledged her wrongdoing."