LABOUR have suspended a senior Renfrewshire councillor after he was drawn into the anti-Semitism row that has engulfed the party.

Terry Kelly, who represents Paisley, will be investigated after it emerged he made a series of comments about the "Jewish lobby" in his long-running online blog.

In one 2010 post, he stated that US vice-president Joe Biden had declined to criticise Israel's actions in Gaza due to the "powerful Jewish lobby" in America. He also compared the Israeli state to the Nazis, speaking of an "Israeli propaganda machine which Joseph Goebbels would have been proud of."

In another, he claimed that the "survivors of the Holocaust" were inflicting barbaric acts on Palestinians, apparently blaming Jews in general for the actions of Israel.

He wrote: "This is being done by the survivors of the Holocaust, it beggars belief that the Jewish people who suffered so much could treat innocent children this way but that’s what they are doing."

Mr Kelly, who has previously been threatened with legal action over other outspoken online comments, even suggested he believed Jews were attempting to influence the Oscars.

In a 2011 post about the film The King's Speech, he wrote: "Their chances are being played up for Oscars which if they are flying around should go to Rush but it might not happen because there is a powerful Jewish lobby campaigning against the film."

Miqdad Al-Nuaimi, a Labour councillor in Newport, south Wales, has also been suspended today over anti-Semitism claims.

The controversy erupted after MP Naz Shah was suspended from Labour over Facebook posts, including one suggesting Israel should be moved to the United States.

Former London mayor Ken Livingstone has also been suspended after he said Hitler had been a supporter of Zionism. Kezia Dugdale, the leader of Scottish Labour, said Livingstone's comments were "appalling" and has admitted that the controversy is harming her Holyrood campaign.

UK leader Jeremy Corbyn continues to face pressure over whether the party has taken a strong enough line over alleged anti-Semitism among its membership. He has announced an independent review into anti-Semitism and pledged to tighten party codes of conduct.

A spokesman for Scottish Labour said: "Terry Kelly has been suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation."