Renfrewshire councillor Jim Sheridan has said he’s getting on with the “day job” after being suspended from the Labour Party over alleged anti-Semitic comments made online.

The former MP said he is “not concerned” about the investigation into remarks made on Facebook and is concentrating on serving the people of Houston, Crosslee and Linwood.

Councillor Sheridan will put forward a motion at full council next Thursday calling on the local authority to adopt the Co-operative Party’s Charter Against Modern Slavery.

It’s the first meeting of full council since the elected member wrote: “For all my adult life I have had the utmost respect and empathy for the Jewish community and their historic suffering.

“No longer due to what they and their Blairite plotters are doing to my party and the long-suffering people of Britain who need a radical Labour government.”

However, Councillor Sheridan said he wasn’t concentrating on political matters at present.

He said: “I’m just focusing on serving my constituents and on the day job. The political stuff will take care of itself when it comes.

“I’m just getting on with what I was elected to do. I’m not concerned about that.”

The 65-year-old said his support for the fight against modern day slavery stems from his time as an MP, when he promoted the Bill which led to the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 – a law which monitors agencies that place vulnerable workers in agricultural work.

He added: “I’ve got a special interest from the point of view as a former MP.

“I took the opportunity to introduce the Gangmasters Act to protect migrant workers in the agricultural industry.

“I saw first hand the conditions workers were living in so it became clear that modern slavery hasn’t gone away.

“I’m just concerned that some of the workers, migrants and indigenous, are still subject in the construction industry and the service sector to modern slavery.

“The Co-op started this campaign to ensure that local authorities are making sure that they’re not fuelling the fire and giving out contracts where workers are being mistreated.”

The motion is set to be seconded by Paisley Northwest Labour Councillor Karen Kennedy.

The local authority’s next meeting of full council is on Thursday, September 27.