The Unite general secretary said he was sorry ‘if’ his language caused hurt after he was accused of deploying an anti-Semitic trope in a BBC Newsnight interview

“Before this gets out of hand, let me say language is important and I apologise to Peter Mandelson and anyone else if mine has caused hurt”

Union chief Len McCluskey apologised last night after telling Labour rival Peter Mandelson to “count his gold”.

The Unite general secretary said he was sorry “if” his language caused hurt after deploying what critics said was an anti-Semitic trope.

Asked about Lord Mandelson’s opinion on Keir Starmer, Mr McCluskey told BBC Newsnight: “I stopped listening to what Peter Mandelson said many many years ago.

“I would suggest that Peter just goes into a room and counts his gold, not worry about what’s happening in the Labour Party.

“Leave that to those of us that are interested in ordinary working people.”

The comments sparked an angry backlash on Twitter.