The bitter row over allegations that antisemitic comments were made by two sitting councillors in Copeland flared up again, as both launched impassioned rebuttals to fresh attacks on the issue.

Former Labour, now independent councillors Tom Higgins and Graham Calvin were questioned by members of the public at Tuesday's Copeland Council meeting in connection to what was alleged to have been antisemitic remarks made by both councillors on social media.

The Labour Party confirmed in September that an investigation into these allegations had been opened.

This investigation was brought to an end following the resignation of both councillors from the Labour Party in November.

Their resignation was described at the time by Copeland's Labour group leader Michael McVeigh as a response to the party's national leadership having "vilified" former leader Jeremy Corbyn in the wake of the recent Equalities and Human Rights Commission report on its investigation into antisemitism within the party under his leadership.

At Tuesday's meeting, Mr Higgins was asked whether his behaviour had been acceptable in relation to the comment he was alleged to have made, which had described the USA and Israel as "co-conspirators".

Mr Higgins said he had been seeking to convey that "one section of the world's population has had its human rights taken completely away".

"I was just merely pointing out that certain governments work hand-in-hand for those situations to arise.

"That doesn't attack anyone as a human being, it just stands up for the rights of other human beings.

"I stand against racism in all its forms. I always will."

Mr Higgins went on to say that if he was to make a critical statement on the UK government, "if its soldiers were involved in murder", it would be considered that he was "exercising" his "free speech".

"Which the last time I looked, we still had in this democracy," he said.

He added that if he criticised the governments of "France, Germany or Russia" for "committing atrocities against other people", he "would not be attacked as being a hater" of said nationalities.

"I just find it odd that this is being used in a political format as an attack on people who oppose the Conservative government," Mr Higgins said.

"It just seems to have run riot recently."

Answering a supplementary question on whether he would be willing to attend diversity training, Mr Higgins replied: "Of course I would".

"We've all got a lot to learn."

In response to a question put to him alleging antisemitic behaviour, Mr Calvin said he was "shocked" that a "total misquote" that he "never said" had been put to him in a council meeting.

"For the record, the only complaint received about me by the Labour Party related to these issues involves a single, distorted and manipulated screenshot" Mr Calvin said.

"In this screenshot, I am discussing how the Labour Party should be funded, by small donations from ordinary people, not millionaires and billionaires."

Mr Calvin said this comment had been taken "out of context" and "distorted" as an attempt to "smear" him as "racist".

"We all have a duty not to make libellous comments about each other," he said.

"I will be consulting legal advice on my response to false quotes being made about me in the public arena."

Mr Calvin added that he left the Labour Party because he "could no longer in good conscience represent a party where the leadership is so fundamentally hostile to socialist values, the values I hold close and dear to me".