Corbyn hails rejection of ‘waste-of-time’ challenge

Jeremy Corbyn has denounced a legal bid to block him from standing in the Labour leadership election as “a waste of time and resources” after it was rejected by a High Court judge.

The ruling allows the contest between Mr Corbyn and challenger Owen Smith to continue as planned, with the result due on September 24 following a ballot of members, affiliates and registered supporters.

Labour donor Michael Foster failed in his attempt to overturn the decision to guarantee Mr Corbyn a place on the ballot paper.

He claimed the Labour Party’s rules were “misapplied” when its national executive committee (NEC) voted by a majority of 18 to 14 that Mr Corbyn should have an automatic place without needing to obtain the backing of 20% of Labour MPs and MEPs – 51 nominations.

Mr Corbyn was not at London’s High Court yesterday when the claim was dismissed.

The Labour leader said in a statement: “I welcome the decision by the High Court to respect the democracy of the Labour Party. This has been a waste of time and resources when our party should be focused on holding the Government to account.”