From Doreen Berger

Sir, — The Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, is mistaken in believing he may have a Jewish link in his family (Comment, 18 September).

His mother, Naomi Loveday Josling, is the descendant of the Revd Edward Nicholas Stott, a Yorkshire-born vicar living in Poplar. The biblical name of Naomi comes from Stott’s mother, daughter of the Dean of St Martin’s Church in Stepney. No trace of a Jewish ancestor can be found in the Josling family.

Although his father was David Corbyn, and his grandfather was Benjamin Corbyn, they are descendants of a Suffolk tailor, William Corbyn, and Dorothy Mary Bush, the daughter of a Norfolk chemist. Again, there is no Jewish pedigree to be found in the Corbyn family.

I am sorry to disappoint a politician, but it would seem that he is not of Jewish descent.

DOREEN BERGER
Chairman of The Anglo-Jewish Special Interest Group
The Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain
c/o The West London Synagogue
33 Seymour Place
London W1H 5AU