Labour to ‘formally apologise’ to anti-semitism whistleblowers

LABOUR is set to make a formal apology to the anti-semitism whistleblowers who appeared on BBC One’s Panorama programme, as Sir Keir Starmer attempts to deal with the fallout from Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

The apology is understood to form part of a settlement with seven former party staffers who chose to speak out over Labour’s handling of the issue.

In a party statement issued when the programme was first broadcast, a spokesman dismissed them “disaffected former officials” who had “worked actively to undermine” Mr Corbyn and had “both personal and political axes to grind”.

The group later sued for defamation on the grounds that senior party figures had attacked their reputations and implied they had ulterior motives.

According to The Guardian, Labour is close to reaching an agreement with the group which has requested that a formal apology be read in open court.

It is also expected to settle a case with the veteran journalist John Ware, who headed the investigation, entitled Is Labour Anti-semitic?, in July 2019. Mr Ware has also sued over a statement by Labour which claimed the BBC engaged in “deliberate and malicious representations designed to mislead the public”.

Labour refused to confirm or deny the reports last night.

Since replacing Mr Corbyn earlier this year Sir Keir has made resolving the party’s anti-semitism crisis one of his priorities and has warned members he will have zero tolerance.

Last month, he ousted his former leadership rival Rebecca Long-bailey, an influential Corbynista, from her post as shadow education secretary. Ms Long-bailey had shared an article on Twitter which the party said contained an “anti-semitic conspiracy theory”.

Separately, Labour is also in the process of responding to a draft report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission into whether it acted unlawfully in its handling of complaints against members accused of anti-semitism. Sir Keir and his deputy, Angela Rayner, have both vowed to accept the watchdog’s findings, with Jewish campaigners calling on the party to implement all of its recommendations in order to draw a line under the scandal.