A former Barnet councillor who was ousted by the Conservatives has called for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to visit the borough and apologise to the Jewish community.

Adam Langleben, former councillor for West Hendon, said antisemitism was the major factor in a local election result that saw the Tories re-take overall control of the council with a 13-seat majority on May 4.

He denied claims from some left-wing factions within the Labour Party that the West Hendon regeneration project and a failure to focus on problems in the council’s outsourcing schemes lay behind Labour’s defeat.

Mr Langleben said: “Mr Corbyn has got to come to Barnet and apologise to the Jewish community. They felt Labour were hostile.

“I do not think he understands left-wing antisemitism. Everyone can agree antisemitism is wrong – I would expect him to say that. But there is a disconnect between what he says and what the majority of Jews see.

“Jeremy Corbyn understands the issue when it comes from the far right, but he doesn’t understand it when he emanates from the far left.

“Young activists didn’t know whether the next door they knocked on they would be accused of being racist. They deserve a sincere apology.”

Mr Langleben rejected a suggestion he had heard from Momentum members that the regeneration of the West Hendon estate – which saw some poorer members of the community, who may have voted Labour, moved to other regions – helped swing the result.

He also rejected claims from Barnet Momentum Steering Committee that Labour’s failure to focus on the alleged failures of the Capita outsourcing deal cost the party votes.

“They are trying to make the argument that we are not far-left enough. That is not true,” Mr Langleben said. “Every single candidate who knocked on doors and canvassed is able to give examples of Jewish Labour voters saying ‘we will not vote for you this time’.

“The number of Jewish voters who did not vote for us exceeds the majorities the Tories got, with the exception of Hale.

“We lost in Hendon Central – not on the estates.”

Mr Langleben said he had been uninvited from a national Labour Party working group on antisemitism, which he was due to attend this afternoon (May 8).

“I have been vocal on the subject, and maybe it is because they don’t want to hear some home truths,” he said. “I still intend to show up.”