Labour has suspended a former MP from the party over comments reportedly made online about the Jewish community.

The move comes after a social media post Jim Sheridan was allegedly responsible for which spoke of his loss of “respect and empathy” for the community amid the row about anti-Semitism.

The former MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, who lost his parliamentary seat in the 2015 General Election, is now a councillor in Renfrewshire.

It it understood that the suspension happened on Saturday after a complaint was received.

Labour did not comment on the individual case but said all complaints of anti-Semitism are fully investigated by the party.

A spokesman said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints of anti-Semitism extremely seriously and we are committed to challenging and campaigning against it in all its forms.

“All complaints about anti-Semitism are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures and any appropriate disciplinary action is taken.”

Scottish Conservative East Renfrewshire MP Paul Masterton described the online comments as “appalling” and said they show “just how deeply the problem of anti-Semitism runs in elements of the Labour Party”.

The Labour Party has been dogged by allegations of anti-Semitism, with Jeremy Corbyn ally and head of Unite the union, Len McCluskey, hitting out at what he called the “intransigent hostility” of Jewish community leaders.

Writing for HuffPost UK on Thursday afternoon, McCluskey accused “Blairite” Labour MPs of exploiting the anti-Semitism row to provoke a split in the party and said that said Labour risked descending “into a vortex of McCarthyism”.

McCluskey was subsequently accused of launching an “unfair and unwarranted” attack on Jewish leaders.