Sir Keir Starmer claims George Galloway only won the Rochdale by-election because Labour didn't stand there.
Reacting to Galloway's victory, Mr Starmer said: "I regret that we had to withdraw our candidate and I apologise to voters in Rochdale.
But I took that decision and it was the right decision." Mr Starmer added that the focus should remain on Gaza and getting humanitarian aid into the area.
Labour withdrew its support for Azhar Ali, its candidate for the Rochdale byelection, in the wake of controversial comments he made about the 7 October attacks on Israel.
Report by Kennedyl.
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