Ex-Welsh Green Party deputy says Zionism motion 'pointless' after quitting party

The Green Party's former deputy leader in Wales says he resigned over the motion to declare 'Zionism is racism' because it was "pointless" and some of the statements made were "disgraceful".

Phil Davies had been a Greens member for seven years, but had announced on social media on Tuesday his decision to quit the party had been "accelerated" by the motion over the weekend.

In the post he had described the motion as "imperialistic" and "idiotic", and that it "doesn't materially achieve anything in the real world".

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast on Wednesday, Davies said he "doesn't know why it was discussed as it doesn't do anything to materially improve people's lives in Palestine".

The motion, which was passed on Sunday to become party policy, called for a "single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine", which includes modern-day Israel.

In response, Israel banned Green leader Zack Polanski from entering the country, while Jewish groups described it as an "attack" on their community and some Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs reported the party to Great Britain's equality watchdog.