Labour antisemitism: Party braced for damning verdict on treatment of Jews under Corbyn leadership

(PA)

Labour is braced for a verdict that it unlawfully discriminated against Jewish people under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, sparking a flood of damaging – and expensive – compensation claims.

The equalities watchdog is expected to rule that the party broke the law by failing to act against antisemitism, in what one senior figure called “the most shameful moment” in its history.

The landmark 17-month investigation – into whether complaints of “racial harassment and/or victimisation” were not properly investigated – is poised to reach a damning conclusion on the Corbyn years.

It is also the biggest leadership test yet for Keir Starmer, who has pledged to implement the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) findings – but who will face questions about his own actions, as a shadow Cabinet member during the scandal.

Meanwhile, Labour privately fears knock-on legal cases. “There could be loads of Jewish people taking cases against the party. That’s one of the things that could happen,” one insider said.

All eyes will be on Mr Corbyn, after he cast doubt on the EHRC’s impartiality and branded it “part of the government machine”, suggesting he might not accept its verdict.

This week, Karie Murphy, former chief of staff, insisted she remains proud of Labour's record on antisemitism and is determined to “set the record straight”.

Margaret Hodge, one of the Jewish Labour MPs who suffered abuse and threats from what appeared to be Mr Corbyn’s supporters, told The Independent that the new Labour leader would be in the spotlight.

“This is the time for Keir to show that he is not just going to offer warm words but he is going to take firm action,” she said.

“I feel relief that the report is finally being published. I hope its recommendations are strong and, hopefully, we can then move on as a united party, looking outwards rather than inwards.”

The investigation is deciding whether Labour breached the 2006 Equality Act because its investigatory and disciplinary processes failed to respond properly to complaints of discrimination.

Despite reports otherwise, it has not examined whether “institutional antisemitism” took place and will not directly criticise any individuals, focusing instead on the party’s actions.

By the time the probe was launched, in May 2019, Labour was deluged with protests that it was failing to take seriously what was dismissed by Corbyn allies as “smears” and “mood music”.

It was only in 2018 that the party agreed to adopt the internationally recognised definition of antisemitism and announced a new process to speed up investigations.

But it still refused to introduce an independent complaints procedure, prompting repeated accusations that Mr Corbyn’s team was intervening in investigations to seek more lenient action.

In July 2019, a bombshell Panorama investigation found that his office had repeatedly interfered, with the leader himself copied into emails revealed by whistleblowers.

A party spokesman denounced them as “disaffected former staff” with “personal and political axes” to grind – prompting a successful legal action and an unreserved apology in the High Court last July, after Sir Keir became leader.

Seven former employees and a BBC journalist are believed to have received around £180,000, in a settlement costing the party around £600,000 which was fiercely criticised by Mr Corbyn.

Speaking on Wednesday, Ed Balls, the former Labour shadow Chancellor, blamed the former leader personally for what he called “a tragedy and a disaster” – alleging his “belief in his own anti-racist credentials blinded him to the reality”.

“I don't think Jeremy Corbyn is an antisemite. He's not a racist man, but he undoubtedly not only stood with antisemitic people, but said things which were antisemitic,” he said

And Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s shadow Health Secretary, agreed that the scandal was probably “the most shameful moment in Labour Party history”.

“We have to be clear that we are never going back to that and we will do everything we can to repair relations with the Jewish community,” he said.