Ex-Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has lost the party whip following remarks made about the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s October report on antisemitism within the Labour Party.
It found that the party breached the 2010 Equality Act because party agents engaged in unlawful harassment of whistleblowers and complainers. The EHRC further stated that antisemitism complaints in Jeremy Corbyn’s office were politically hindered.
The report’s analysis of 70 complaint files established instances of inappropriate involvement by Mr. Corbyn and other members of the labour party, putting them at risk of biased treatment.
Mr. Corbyn’s suspension came after his reaction to last week’s report. In a statement on Facebook, Mr. Corbyn said: “one anti-Semite 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.
“Anyone claiming there is no antisemitism in the Labour Party is wrong. Of course, there is, as there is throughout society, and sometimes it is voiced by people who think of themselves as on the left”.
Mr. John McDonnell, former shadow chancellor, addressing an online ‘I stand with Corbyn’ event appealed to Labour Party members not to abandon the party or stage a “civil war” – and urged for unity and clarification in dealing with the EHRC report.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Sir Keir Stammer said: “There is no reason for a civil war, there’s no reason to lean inwards, that is not what I want.
“I want to unite the party – that is the basis on which I ran my leadership campaign, I want to unite the party to stop the faction”.
A gofundme page set up by campaigner Carol Morgan in July 2020 has now raised £366,950 for Mr. Corbyn’s legal fund, largely since his suspension was announced. The campaigner insists that the fund was set-up for prior defamation cases against Mr. Corbyn and cannot be used for any legal battles resulting from the EHRC report.