Bolton lass Maxine Peake has spoken out about the "anti-Semitic conspiracy theory" she shared in an interview.

In an interview with The Independent, the popular actress claimed police linked to the death of George Floyd in the US had learned their tactics from the Israeli secret services.

Rebecca Long-Bailey was sacked from the shadow cabinet yesterday afternoon after sharing a link to the article on her Twitter page.

In a post to the social media platform, Ms Peake said: “I feel it’s important for me to clarify that, when talking to The Independent, I was inaccurate in my assumption of American Police training & its sources.

“I find racism & anti-Semitism abhorrent & I in no way wished, nor intended, to add fodder to any views of the contrary.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer took action after Ms Long-Bailey tweeted a link to the interview, adding: “The sharing of that article was wrong, because the article contained anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

“I have therefore stood Rebecca Long-Bailey down from the shadow cabinet.”

In comments reported by the BBC he said: “I’ve made it my first priority to tackle anti-Semitism and rebuilding trust with the Jewish community is a number one priority for me.”

Opinion on Ms Long-Bailey's removal has been divided, with some praising Mr Starmer for his swift action against anti-Semitism, and some concerned that the event reinforces the idea that any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group against Anti-Semitism welcomed the response from the Labour leader, with co-chairs Catherine McKinnell and Andrew Percy releasing a statement on Twitter.

It said: “We welcome Sir Keir Starmer’s zero tolerance approach and decisive action. Members of Parliament have a duty to challenge anti-Semitic conspiracy theories not share them.

“We will work with all political parties to ensure anti-Semitism plays no part in public life, and our group will always work to educate colleagues about it.”

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell tweeted his support for Ms Long-Bailey, saying: “Throughout discussion of anti-Semitism it’s always been said criticism of practices of Israeli state is not anti-Semitic.

"I don’t believe therefore that this article is or ⁦⁦Rebecca Long-Bailey⁩ should’ve been sacked. I stand in solidarity with her.”

Shortly after her dismissal, Ms Long-Bailey tweeted a thread in response to the incident, saying that she couldn't "in good conscience" delete her tweets without a statement.

She said: “Today I retweeted an interview that my constituent and stalwart Labour Party supporter Maxine Peake gave to the Independent. Its main thrust was anger with the Conservative government’s handling of the current emergency and a call for Labour Party unity.

“These are sentiments are shared by everyone in our movement and millions of people in our country. I learned that many people were concerned by references to international sharing of training and restraint techniques between police and security forces.

“In no way was my retweet an intention to endorse every part of that article.

“I wished to acknowledge these concerns and duly issued a clarification of my retweet, with the wording agreed in advance by the Labour Party leader’s Office, but after posting I was subsequently instructed to take both this agreed clarification and my original retweet down.

“I could not do this in good conscience without the issuing of a press statement of clarification. I had asked to discuss these matters with Keir before agreeing what further action to take, but sadly he had already made his decision.

“I am proud of the policies we have developed within the party from our green industrial revolution to a national education service and I will never stop working for the change our communities need to see.

“I am clear that I shall continue to support the Labour Party in Parliament under Keir Starmer’s leadership, to represent the people of Salford and Eccles and work towards a more equal, peaceful and sustainable world.”