The Labour Party has today been served with an unlawful act notice after the investigation into antisemitism by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found it responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination.
Following the report’s publication, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer suspended former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn from the party. In a statement the party confirmed: “In light of his comments made today and his failure to retract them subsequently, the Labour Party has suspended Jeremy Corbyn pending investigation. He has also had the whip removed from the Parliamentary Labour Party”.
In a Facebook post today, Mr Corbyn wrote that antisemitism within the party was “dramatically overstated” by his opponents and the media, a combination he said “hurt Jewish people”.
The EHRC investigation, which followed complaints by the Campaign Against Antisemitism and Jewish Labour Movement, identified “serious” failings in the Labour Party leadership in addressing antisemitism and an inadequate process for handling antisemitism complaints.
The party was found responsible for three breaches of the Equality Act (2010) relating to political interference in antisemitism complaints; failure to provide adequate training to those handling antisemitism complaints; and harassment.
The EHRC confirmed it found “political interference from within the Leaders Office” was present in one third of the 70 cases it looked into during the investigation.
Sir Keir said that the EHRC report had brought “a day of shame” for the party. The Labour Party has until 10th December to draft an action plan to implement the report’s recommendations, which is legally enforceable by the court if not fulfilled.
Read the report in full here.
