Barnet Labour is embroiled in a row over anti-Semitism after a Jewish “lifelong socialist” defected to the Conservatives over alleged offensive remarks.

Adele Winston, who lives in High Barnet, joined the Labour Party in 1967 but said she had made the decision to campaign for the Tories after a Labour member’s anti-Semitic remarks were not taken seriously by the party.

The 75-year-old, who lives in High Barnet, said a Chipping Barnet Labour member had repeatedly claimed “all Jews are rich and corrupt” during and after a local party meeting – but no-one in the party seemed to care about the offensive comments.

She said: “It was very upsetting. I sent some emails, but in the end, I got totally fed up and noticed that the anti-Semitism was endemic.”

Mrs Winston said she was also concerned about the refusal of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to take anti-Semitism seriously.

She said she did not worry too much about Mr Corbyn until a friend who came over on the Kindertransport - a scheme to evacuate Jewish children from Nazi Europe before the outbreak of World War II - raised the prospect of him winning an election.

“I think he is evil,” Mrs Winston said. “I think if you look at his track record, the things he has said and done, and the groups he has associated with, it is absolutely unacceptable.”

She said that while ideologically she had not become a Tory – she disagrees with the party on issues from Brexit to library closures – she had made a personal decision to switch allegiance.

She said: “[MP for Chipping Barnet] Theresa Villiers is a stalwart campaigner for Jewish people and issues. She represents a very large Jewish community, and she says and does all the right things. I would be very upset if the Labour Party managed to supplant her.”

The Labour leadership has come under fire for allegedly not doing enough to tackle anti-Semitism in the party after several incidents came to light in recent weeks.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn became embroiled in controversy over his defence of an allegedly anti-Semitic mural and his decision to spend Passover with fringe group Jewdas, which is known for its far-left anti-Zionism.

Barnet is home to a large Jewish community, with the highest proportion of Jewish residents – almost 15 per cent of the population – of any English borough.

This week, Finchley and Golders Green MP Mike Freer said the Labour leadership “cannot be trusted” to tackle anti-Semitism and called for an independent inquiry into the issue.

Speaking ahead of a House of Commons debate on anti-Semitism, Mr Freer said: “After Labour’s last review into the problem in 2016, the Chakrabarti Inquiry, skirted over many of the concerns raised by Jewish members of the party, and its author was summarily awarded a peerage, a properly independent inquiry is now badly needed.”

Barnet Labour group has denied the member’s anti-Semitic remarks were made at a meeting and said the complaint was investigated.

A spokesperson for Barnet Labour said: “It is a matter of great regret to the Labour Party that Mrs Winston felt the need to resign. The Labour Party is committed to dealing with any evidence of anti-Semitic conduct by members quickly and effectively.

“The Chipping Barnet Labour party took immediate action to investigate Mrs Winston's complaint, which she registered the year after the conduct complained of.

“We would like to make absolutely clear that this conduct did not take place during the business of the Labour Party meeting (November 2015) and was alleged to have taken place in a car, when Mrs Winston shared a lift home after a Labour Party meeting with a friend.

“The member complained of made an immediate personal apology to Mrs Winston at the time, and believed her conversation had been misinterpreted, causing unintended offence.

“It is not true that there was no reaction or that the party made excuses about lack of action. The complaint was investigated by a panel of three party members within the party's disciplinary processes.

“The investigation concluded that the substance of the complaint did not reach the standard of conduct that would merit expulsion and the member complained of should apologise to Mrs Winston.”