Labour EHRC report: everything you need to know about the anti-Semitism investigation
Description The Equality and Human Rights Commission has shared its findings
with the party Credits Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Alt Text Jeremy Corbyn
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has shared its findings with the party
In Depth Holden Frith Tuesday, July 14, 2020 - 2:46pm Labour has been handed a
draft report on the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) investigation
into anti-Semitism in the party, officials have confirmed. The party has 28 days
to respond to the watchdog’s findings, during which time the report will remain
private. In a statement last night, Labour said that anti-Semitism had been “a
stain” on the party that had caused “unimaginable levels of grief and distress
for many in the Jewish community, as well as members of staff”. Why was the
investigation opened? The EHRC says it initially “contacted the Labour Party
after receiving a number of complaints about allegations of anti-Semitism in the
party”. Having “carefully considered” the party’s response, a formal
investigation was launched into “whether unlawful acts have been committed by
the party or its employees or agents”. The inquiry has also look at whether the
party “has responded to complaints of unlawful acts in a lawful, efficient and
effective manner”. What triggered to the anti-Semitism complaints?
“Anti-Semitism was generally not regarded as a big problem in the Labour Party
before Jeremy Corbyn’s election as leader in September 2015,” says the BBC.
During his reign, however, the party was dogged by allegations of anti-Jewish
prejudice and a failure to act against such discrimination. The row hit the
media spotlight in April 2016, when Labour MP Naz Shah posted Facebook messages
comparing Israel to Nazi Germany. Days later, while seeking to defend Shah,
former London mayor Ken Livingstone said Adolf Hitler had been a Zionist “before
he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews”. Some of the controversies
directly involved Corbyn. In 2018, a round of protests “flared up after the
leader gave his backing to an anti-Semitic London mural, something he later
retracted and apologised for”, as The Independent reported in the aftermath.
Former Labour MP Frank Field subsequently claimed that the party had become “a
force for anti-Semitism in British politics”. Corbyn’s opponents have also
“accused him of being too close to Hamas, a militant Islamist group, and
Hezbollah, a Lebanese paramilitary group”, says the BBC. “Both groups are widely
viewed in the West as terrorist organisations.” How did Corbyn respond?
Throughout his leadership, Corbyn said repeatedly that he opposed anti-Semitism.
In 2016, he established an inquiry led by Baroness Chakrabarti, the former head
of Amnesty International, to examine the allegations. She criticised an
“occasionally toxic atmosphere” in the party, but concluded that Labour was “not
overrun by anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, or other forms of racism”. But three
years later, during the 2019 election campaign, Corbyn appeared to concede that
his party did have a problem with anti-Semitism. Invited by ITV’s Good Morning
Britain to apologise to Jewish voters, he said: “Obviously, I’m very sorry for
everything that’s happened, but I want to make this clear: I am dealing with it.
I have dealt with it.” Yet despite Corbyn’s seeming admission, some of his
supporters maintained that “the problem had been exaggerated and was being used
as a stick to beat him by people who didn’t like his leadership of the party or
his views on the Middle East”, says the BBC. An internal inquiry completed
earlier this year “found ‘no evidence’ of anti-Semitism complaints being treated
differently to other forms of complaint”, Sky News reports. And where
allegations were found to have been inadequately investigated, the inquiry
blamed anti-Corbyn staff in Labour’s headquarters for creating a
“hyper-factional atmosphere [that] affected the expeditious and resolute
handling of disciplinary complaints”. Last month, as Labour awaited the findings
of the EHRC investigation, Corbyn cast doubt on the independence of the
commission. In his first interview after stepping down as party leader, Corbyn
told Middle East Eye that he believed the watchdog was “part of the government
machine”. Will the inquiry name names? James Libson of law firm Mishcon de Reya,
who represents the Jewish Labour Movement, said in June that he thought the EHRC
would be “a little reluctant” to name specific people accused of anti-Semitism
or of thwarting the investigation. However, Labour List argues that “it is not
considered beyond the bounds of possibility that individuals will be censured”.
What happens next? Although EHRC reports are not always made public, Labour
officials have said the party would like to see the investigation findings
published. That is likely to happen in September. “If the EHRC concludes after
the investigation that the party has committed an unlawful act, it can give
Labour an ‘unlawful act notice’ under Section 21 of the Equality Act,” says
Labour List. “This notice can require the party to prepare an action plan so
that it avoids continuing or repeating the unlawful act.” Labour last night said
that “we are committed to cooperating fully with the commission’s investigation
and implementing its recommendations when the final report is published”. UK
News Jeremy Corbyn Keir Starmer Anti-Semitism#politics
