Who is Margaret Hodge, did the Labour MP swear at Jeremy Corbyn and what is the anti-Semitism row about?

JEWISH MP Margaret Hodge is facing disciplinary action by Labour for reportedly swearing at Jeremy Corbyn in a row over anti-Semitism.

Here's all you need to know.

Who is Margaret Hodge?

Dame Margaret Hodge is a 73-year-old Labour party politician who has served as an MP for Barking since 1994.

She was made minister for children in 2003 before becoming minister for culture and tourism two years later.

From 2010 to 2015 she chaired the Public Accounts Committee, parliament's spending watchdog, and became known for tenaciously tackling corporate tax avoidance and bungles by HMRC.

She was born Margaret Oppenheimer in Egypt, one of five children to Jewish refugee parents.

In 1948, the family moved to Orpington, Kent, after being rendered stateless in Cairo and amid concerns anti-Semitism had increased in the Middle East during the Arab-Israeli War.

In 2015, Hodge spoke of how proud she was to be the daughter of immigrants.

She said: "I’m an immigrant ... My father was German-Jewish and had a very heavy German accent, and I remember going home with a black boyfriend and being lambasted by my parents.

"I’ve grown up with the notion that immigrants very quickly become settled and turn their anger and hostility on the following wave. I get that in Barking."

She was educated at Bromley High School and the London School of Economics, graduating with a third-class degree in Government in 1966.

In 1968 she married first husband Andrew Watson. They had had one son and a daughter but divorced in 1978.

She then married Henry Hodge and went on to have two more daughters with him.

The former solicitor was appointed a High Court Judge. He died in 2009.

Where did Margaret Hodge work before she became an MP?

Between 1966 and 1973, Margaret worked in market research and PR.

In 1973, she was elected as a councillor for the London Borough of Islington, where she became chairwoman of the housing committee.

While in this post she oversaw the continuation of a large new housing programme. 

At one point, Hodge's deputy chairman was Jack Straw, who later became Foreign Secretary.

In 1982, Hodge became Council Leader - a post she held for a decade.

She was forced to apologise after allegations emerged of serious child abuse at council-run children's homes in her borough.

Hodge apologised several times for the scandal that directly linked her council tenure with what she said was a "shameful disgrace".

What happened in the anti-Semitism row with Jeremy Corbyn?

Hodge is facing disciplinary action by the Labour party after she allegedly swore at the leader and called him an "anti-Semite".

She said she was "outraged" after Labour's NEC adopted new watered-down guidelines on anti-Semitism, which was condemned by MPs and the Jewish community.

Dame Margaret, the granddaughter of a Holocaust victim, confronted Mr Corbyn in the Houses of Parliament, calling him a "f***ing anti-Semite and a racist" in front of stunned colleagues.

Hodge  that she "confronted Jeremy Corbyn in Parliament and told him to his face what I and many others are feeling".

After reports emerged, Corbyn's spokesman said "action will be taken" against her.

On August 16 she compared the party's handling of the anti-Semitism crisis to the Nazis.

She said it reminded her of "what it felt like to be a Jew in Germany in the 30s".

Dame Margaret, whose relatives died in the Holocaust, said: "It reminded me of what my Dad used to say.

"He always said to me as a child, 'You've got to keep a packed suitcase at the door Margaret, in case you ever have got to leave in a hurry'.

"And when I heard about the disciplinary, my emotional response resonated with that feeling of fear, that clearly was at the heart of what my father felt when he came to Britain."

He declined to reveal precisely how she would be disciplined, but said Labour procedures required MPs to behave in a "respectful" way towards colleagues and not to "bring the party into disrepute".

It sparked outrage. Labour backbencher Wes Streeting said: “If only senior Labour sources could respond so swiftly to complaints about anti-Semitism within our ranks.

“The stench of hypocrisy is overwhelming.”

Dame Margaret then threatened to sue her own party after the general secretary wrote to say Labour had opened formal disciplinary proceedings.

The Labour grandee told The Sun she is talking to lawyers before deciding on her next move, but vowed: “They won’t shut me up.”