Labour’s leadership ‘complicit’ in smears
LABOUR MPs last night accused their own frontbench of being ‘actively complicit’ in smearing whistleblowers who have exposed anti-Semitism in the party.
Three backbenchers – Ruth Smeeth, Wes Streeting and John Mann – condemned the ‘officially sanctioned spin campaign’ against former staff who spoke out about anti- Jewish racism in the Labour Party in a BBC Panorama documentary.
When the programme was broadcast earlier this month, Labour described those taking part as ‘disaffected former officials’ opposed to Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, and claimed they had ‘both personal and political axes to grind’.
The letter from the backbenchers, who are all members of the All-Party Group on Anti-Semitism, called for Mr Corbyn’s frontbench to ‘examine their consciences’.
They added: ‘Since the broadcast, too many members of the Shadow Cabinet have been silent bystanders to, or – worse still – actively complicit in, an officially sanctioned spin campaign against victims of racism and whistleblowers. We ask you
‘Consider how this reflects on our party’
to consider how you would react to any other employer acting in this way and on how this reflects on our party as a champion of equality and workers’ rights.’
The condemnation came ahead of an emergency Shadow Cabinet meeting today to discuss how to tackle the issue of anti-Semitism in Labour.
The MPs added in their letter: ‘The bunker mentality around the leader is causing immense damage to the Labour Party. Monday’s meeting of the Shadow Cabinet is an important opportunity to turn things around. We urge you not to waste it.’
Yesterday Labour launched ‘basic tools’ on its website to help members identify and challenge anti-Semitic stereotypes in a bid to defeat the problem, and includes guidance on how to avoid anti-Semitism when criticising Israel.
A Labour Party spokesman said: ‘We are providing members with some basic tools to identify and call out anti-Semitic stereotypes and conspiracy theories, and more education materials on antiSemitism and other forms of racism and bigotry will follow.’