R.I.P CORBYN’S LEGACY OF HATE
Labour civil war erupts as ex-leader suspended in anti-Semitism storm
LABOUR exploded into open warfare last night after Jeremy Corbyn was suspended f or dismissing the scale of the party’s anti-Semitism problem.
On an extraordinary day, the hard-Left former leader was stripped of the party whip hours after a damning report found Labour guilty of breaking equality laws.
Lord Mann, the UK’s antiSemitism tsar, said it was ‘ the moment of greatest shame in the history of the Labour Party’.
Delivering an unprecedented j udgment, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said that under Mr Corbyn’s leadership, the party had been guilty of unlawful discrimination and the harassment of Jews.
The watchdog concluded: ‘ Our analysis points to a culture within the party which, at best, did not do enough to prevent antiSemitism and, at worst, could be seen to accept it.’
Party leader Sir Keir Starmer accepted the findings and said that any member who believed Labour’s anti- Semitism issues were exaggerated was ‘part of the problem’ and should be ‘nowhere near the party’.
But almost simultaneously, Mr Corbyn i ssued a statement, dismissing many of the EHRC’s conclusions and claiming the extent of anti-Semitism during his tenure had been ‘ overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media’.
It was this comment which prompted Labour general secretary David Evans to suspend him.
The move was hailed by moderates, but Unite union boss Len McCluskey said the decision was a ‘grave injustice’ which would cause ‘ chaos’ and doom Labour to electoral defeat. That in-fighting could last for months as the former leader’s fate is decided.
Mr Corbyn vowed to fight the suspension. There are suggestions his supporters on the front bench are considering resigning and his backers in the party tearing up their membership cards.
On a devastating day for Labour, the EHRC found:
■ The party breached the Equality Act three times, relating to political interference in complaints, failure to provide adequate training to those handling anti-Semitism cases, and harassment;
■ There were 23 instances of inappropriate involvement by Mr Corbyn’s office and others in the 70 files the watchdog looked at;
■ Mr Corbyn’s office intervened to dismiss a complaint against him for supporting the artist behind an anti-Semitic mural;
■ Former London mayor Ken Livingstone was among those who harassed party members and sought to dismiss complaints of anti-Semitism as ‘fake or smears’;
■ Labour members made shocking social media comments, even expressing support for Hitler.
Last night the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism demanded its complaints about Mr Corbyn’s conduct – such as supporting an antiSemitic mural – be reinvestigated. It also submitted complaints against 15 other MPs, including Diane Abbott, Richard Burgon, Rebecca Long-Bailey and deputy leader Angela Rayner.
A YouGov poll found 58 per cent of people believe Mr Corbyn’s suspension was right, against 13 per cent who said it was wrong.
Alasdair Henderson, the EHRC’s lead investigator, rejected Mr Corbyn’s claim that the scale of antiSemitism was ‘dramatically overstated’. He said: ‘We found two specific unlawful acts, 18 more in the sample that we found, and that’s the tip of the iceberg.’
Sir Keir said: ‘We have failed Jewish people, our members, our supporters and the British public.’
Mr Corbyn denied he was ‘part of the problem’ and said he would not quit Labour. He added: ‘I will strongly contest the political intervention to suspend me.’
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said: ‘ I have known Jeremy Corbyn for decades. He is a life-long anti-racist campaigner. But I am not commenting on internal disciplinary matters.’
He has previously claimed his party was struggling to cope with a flood of anti-Semitism and racism complaints. In 2019, he told of his frustration at the lack of action by the UK party over disciplinary matters and said anti- Semitic behaviour would not be tolerated.