But crucially, Mr Corbyn received far higher support than his rival among Labour supporters, receiving 41.4 per cent favourable ratings compared with Mr Smith’s 23.7 per cent.
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Mr Corbyn’s spokesman said: “Jeremy has consistently spoken out against all forms of anti-semitism and has contacted Ruth Smeeth to express his outrage at the abuse and threats directed against her”.
Behar’s criticism and the incident involving Smeets come approximately two months after Labour published the findings of an internal probe on its anti-Semitism problem in a report that leaders of British Jewry called a whitewash.
Smith said in a statement, “Antisemitic abuse and violent threats against Ruth Smeeth, or anyone else, are completely unacceptable”.
“My motion talks about unity, getting the whole of the Parliamentary Labour Party, including the leader of the shadow cabinet, working together”, he told BBC Newsnight. The best thing to do is address it.
“Anyone responsible for abuse like this has no place in the Labour Party”.
She also recently backed the Saving Labour movement, which took out adverts to persuade people to join the party with the aim of taking it back from Mr Corbyn.
It urges Labour’s ruling body, the National Executive Committee, to bring forward a rule change at the party conference in September, to reinstate the elections system following the result of the leadership battle on 24 September.
“It is not enough to say “ignore it”, you have got to address it and deal with it”.
Ramsgate is in Thanet, an area where Ukip controls the town council – and Mr Corbyn’s speech represents an attempt to park his tanks on the eurosceptic party’s front lawn.
He added: “For us to be reflecting that and not seeking to mitigate, go up against it, for us to be having to answer questions about homophobia or any other sort of abuse in the Labour Party, is completely wrong”. He will also back an investment bank for the English region.
Should he be elected as Prime Minister in the next general election, Mr Corbyn is to launch the Tenants’ Right Charter.
“I think we get paid enough for doing our jobs and I don’t think we need to get paid extra money for doing jounalism”.
He added: “I know that there will be some within the PLP who will not give up the ghost on seeking to remove Jeremy”.
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Mr Corbyn won an overwhelming victory among members past year to become leader but has faced resignations from his shadow cabinet and a vote of no confidence among MPs.
