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Jeremy Corbyn suspended from Labour in 'day of shame' for the party

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The bombshell move will go down in history after Jeremy Corbyn - leader until just months ago - accused "opponents" of exaggerating anti-Semitism on the same day Labour was found to have breached equality lawVideo UnavailableJeremy Corbyn was today suspended from the Labour Party after he claimed the scale of anti-Semitism was "dramatically overstated for political reasons". The bombshell move was announced against Keir Starmer's predecessor hours after he accused "opponents and the media" of exaggerating anti-Jewish racism. It came as a watchdog report found Mr Corbyn's office unlawfully interfered in anti-Semitism complaints - including one against the leader himself. Sir Keir vowed to implement the EHRC recommendations in full and branded it a "day of shame" for Labour - but Mr Corbyn dismissed some of its findings and said the scale of the problem was "exaggerated". In a landmark moment, it means the man who led the Labour Party for four and a half years until this spring has had the whip removed pending investigation. If the ex-leader is found to have broken party rules he could be disciplined or even expelled. A spokesman said: "In light of his comments made today and his failure to retract them subsequently, the Labour Party has suspended pending investigation. "He has also had the whip removed from the Parliamentary Labour Party.” Mr Corby had initially said: “One antisemite is one too many, but the scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media." After his suspension, he attempted to clarify his remarks saying: "I will strongly contest the political intervention to suspend me. I’ve made absolutely clear that those who deny there has been an antisemitism problem in the Labour Party are wrong. "It’s also undeniable that a false impression has been created of the number of members accused of antisemitism, as polling shows: that is what has been overstated, not the seriousness of the problem. "I will continue to support a zero tolerance policy towards all forms of racism. And I urge all members to stay calm and focused - while this problem is resolved amicably, as I believe it will be - to defeat this awful government, which is further impoverishing the poorest in our society." Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, a key ally of the ex-leader, tweeted: "On the day we should all be moving forward &amp; taking all steps to fight antisemitism, the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn is profoundly wrong. In interests of party unity let’s find a way of undoing &amp; resolving this." The decision to suspend Mr Corbyn was technically taken by general secretary David Evans and the decision to remove the whip was taken by Chief Whip Nick Brown. However, Keir Starmer is involved in decisions on the whip.Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated ArticlesIt comes after a damning official report ruled the Labour Party breached equality law in its “inadequate” handling of anti-Semitism cases. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found ’s office unlawfully “politically interfered” with almost two dozen alleged cases - including of Ken Livingstone and the leader himself. apologised on the "day of shame" and vowed to act after the watchdog found “serious failings in leadership and an inadequate process” for dealing with complaints. But Mr Corbyn said "I do not accept" all the EHRC's findings and said "my team acted to speed up, not hinder the process." Offering no apology in a defiant 270-word statement, he said "of course" there is anti-Semitism in the party but said: “One antisemite is one too many, but the scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media." He later refused to take back his comments in a media interview, saying the scale of the problem had been "exaggerated".Mr Corbyn told Sky News: "The numbers have been exaggerated in my view. The public perception in an opinion poll last year was that a third of all Labour party members were under suspicion of anti-Semitism. "The reality is it was 0.3% of members has a case against them which had to be put through the process." Asked if he was sorry he failed, he replied: "I don't believe I did fail." And asked if he would resign, he replied: "Of course not". And he insisted: "I'm not part of the problem". He was suspended moments later. The suspension came after said those who branded the problem exaggerated belonged nowhere near Labour. Sir Keir told a press conference: "If after all the pain all the grief and all the evidence in this report, there are still those who think there’s no problem with anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, that it’s all exaggerated or a factional attack, then frankly you are part of the problem too - and you should be nowhere near the Labour Party either." It appeared Sir Keir had not seen Mr Corbyn's comments when he spoke at a press conference. Asked directly if he was saying Mr Corbyn didn't belong in Labour, Sir Keir said at the time ”I’ll look carefully at what has said in full," but added: "Those who deny there’s a problem are part of the problem."Video UnavailableToday's report found unlawful political interference in anti-Semitism complaints “throughout the period of the investigation”. In a sample of 70 complaint files, investigators found "23 instances of political interference by LOTO (Leader of the Opposition) staff and others.” That included a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn himself over an anti-Semitic mural he had commented on in 2012. In March 2018 Mr Corbyn expressed “sincere regret” for objecting on , in 2012, to the removal of a mural which showed hook-nosed figures playing Monopoly on the backs of naked men. The then-leader said he had not looked closely at the mural and therefore did not realise it was anti-Semitic. In an email, his office's staff said the complaint should be dismissed because it "seems to fall well below the threshold required for investigation". The report also found Labour committed “unlawful harassment" due to the actions of two "agents" - one of whom is former mayor of London Ken Livingstone. The ex-mayor accused ‘the Israel lobby’ of a smear campaign to stigmatise critics of Israel as anti-Semitic, the EHRC said. The watchdog today found his comments were "anti-Semitic" and "had the effect of harassing Labour Party members" - and Labour was responsible for them because Mr Livingstone was a high-profile party figure. His statements “had the effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for members, and prospective members, of the Labour Party, particularly those who were Jewish", the EHRC added. His case appeared to be one of those interfered with by the leader’s office, the EHRC revealed. “There is evidence of LOTO staff being directly involved in the decision to investigate the second complaint of antisemitism made against Ken Livingstone,” the watchdog said. Mr Livingstone, who has always denied his comments were anti-Semitic, did not comment to the EHRC. The second incident of "harassment" was by then-councillor Pam Bromley, who wrote online that anti-Semitism claims were "fake" and "now capitalism has got what it wanted". The two cases were only "the tip of the iceberg", said Mr Henderson. There were many other cases, including 18 "borderline" cases, where conduct was anti-Semitic but the members did not hold a formal role so Labour could not be legally responsible. Ken Livingstone told the Mirror: "I knew it was going to be a con because they made huge allegations against me but never invited me in for questioning. "To make these severe allegations and never invite me in. I find it unbelievable." He said no one had ever proven he was anti-Semitic, adding: "Just look at my record. I represented Stoke Newington on the GLC, which has the largest orthodox community in Europe, and we worked together on a lot of things." Cllr Pam Bromley told the Mirror she was considering legal action against the EHRC. In a separate statement to ITV, she said: "I have not read the report, nor do I intend to. My response, however is that I am not, have never been, nor ever will be, a racist of any description, neither do I subscribe to any anti-Semitic tropes. As a socialist I object to the wealth and power held by a tiny section of the population, at the expense of the many, whichever race and creed they belong to. This was the basis of my remarks, which have been taken out of context and twisted round to mean something they don't." She said the report's aim was to "disempower" Jeremy Corbyn and branded it a "political circus". The EHRC's interim chair Caroline Waters said there had been "inexcusable" failures which "appeared to be a result of a lack of willingness to tackle anti-Semitism rather than an inability to do so". The EHRC said there was poor administration of complaints, with documents missing in 62 out of 70 cases, and the inbox for complaints was not monitored for periods of time. Labour has 6 weeks to draft an action plan, agreed with the EHRC, which will be legally enforceable. Sir Keir today praised the "comprehensive, rigorous and professional" report for uncovering unlawful acts, declaring: "The report’s conclusions are clear and stark. They leave no room for equivocation." Vowing to implement all its recommendations in full, including an independent complaints process, Sir Keir added: "I found this report hard to read and it is a day of shame for the Labour Party. "We have failed Jewish people, our members and the British public. And so on behalf of the Labour Party, I am truly sorry for all the pain and grief that has been caused." Alasdair Henderson, Board member lead for the investigation at the EHRC, said Mr Corbyn's claim that his team acted to speed up the process was valid, but still undermined the process. In the wake of the report, the Campaign Against Antisemitism said it had submitted new complaints against Jeremy Corbyn and 15 other MPs, including ex-shadow cabinet members and Rebecca-Long Bailey. It said the report had "utterly vindicated" British Jews who had been accused of lying to smear the party. Ex-Labour MP Luciana Berger, who quit the party last year over anti-Semitism, said: "The findings of the report today are damning, I don't think they could have been any worse than what we've heard and seen today." The Jewish Labour Movement said suggesting complaints of antisemitism are "fakes or smears" was an act of antisemitism, and tackling this will be "the first test" of Keir Starmer's leadership. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, who spoke out against Mr Corbyn before the election, said the report was a "historic nadir for the Labour Party". Labour MP Harriet Harman said Mr Corbyn's suspension is "the right thing to do". "This is the right thing to do," Ms Harman tweeted. "If you say that AS exaggerated for factional reasons you minimise it &amp; are, as Keir-Starmer says, part of the problem." Former Labour MP Luciana Berger said Mr Corbyn "should have acknowledged the pain and the hurt and the scars" of Jewish Brits and suspending the whip was the "right decision". Ms Berger was asked by Emma Barnett on BBC Radio 5 Live “Is Jeremy Corbyn anti-Semitic?”. She replied “I call a spade a spade… If someone themselves shares platforms with anti-Semites, they’re anti-Semitic”. Labour veteran and Jewish Labour Movement chair Margaret Hodge said Mr Corbyn had been in "persistent denial" for five years and "he gave Keir Starmer no option but to suspend him." The human rights body launched its probe in May 2019 to look into the party's disciplinary processes and response to complaints. It came after years of complaints over how allegations of anti-Semitism were dealt with under Mr Corbyn's leadership. In February 2019 it emerged just 12 members had been expelled, at that point, out of 663 who had anti-Semitism complaints lodged against them. Mr Corbyn’s allies blamed slow disciplinary measures under previous general secretary Iain McNicol and claimed his ally, Jennie Formby, improved them. And his supporters repeatedly claimed complaints were being highlighted by people who were already enemies of Mr Corbyn to undermine his leadership. But Jewish groups and campaigners said the ex-leader’s failings went beyond the way members were investigated. Critics said some supporters of Mr Corbyn blurred the lines between legitimate criticism of Israel and anti-Semitic tropes of Jews’ power and wealth. A rapid report by human rights lawyer Shami Chakrabarti in 2016 said there was an "occasionally toxic atmosphere" in the party but added: "The Labour Party is not overrun by antisemitism, Islamophobia or other forms of racism." Yet that report was branded a “whitewash” as Baroness Chakrabarti was offered a peerage by Jeremy Corbyn just weeks later. And pressure began building once more on the leadership - reaching a peak in summer 2018 with recriminations and a protest in Parliament Square. Fresh anger erupted that summer when he refused to adopt the full International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism. While Labour adopted the definition itself, it stopped short of adopting four IHRA examples of anti-Semitism, including claiming Israel is a “racist endeavour”. After a summer-long row, Labour U-turned and adopted the four examples - but with a caveat they they would not undermine free expression on Israel. Some MPs including Luciana Berger quit the party and joined other groups, saying Mr Corbyn had not done enough to deal with the issue. Veteran MP Margaret Hodge confronted Mr Corbyn in the Commons in July 2018 and accused him of being a “racist and an anti-Semite”. Yet Labour responded by warning Dame Margaret she would face disciplinary action. The threat was later dropped after an outcry. Meanwhile earlier this year Labour agreed to pay "substantial damages" to whistleblowers who contributed to a TV expose of its handling of anti-Semitism. The party said it had made "defamatory and false allegations" that the ex-staffers who spoke to BBC Panorama were politically motivated. Mr Corbyn said it was "disappointing" that the party under Sir Keir had settled the claim, adding that it was a "political decision, not a legal one".

The bombshell move will go down in history after Jeremy Corbyn - leader until just months ago - accused "opponents" of exaggerating anti-Semitism on the same day Labour was found to have breached equality lawVideo UnavailableJeremy Corbyn was today suspended from the Labour Party after he claimed the scale of anti-Semitism was "dramatically overstated for political reasons". The bombshell move was announced against Keir Starmer's predecessor hours after he accused "opponents and the media" of exaggerating anti-Jewish racism. It came as a watchdog report found Mr Corbyn's office unlawfully...

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Dan Bloom

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Jeremy Corbyn suspended from Labour in 'day of shame' for the party

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