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Former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn was suspended from the party after the human rights watchdog found he violated the equality law in his handling of anti-Semitism.
Corbyn said he will “vigorously challenge political intervention to suspend me” from the party.
A damning report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (ECHR) found the party to be responsible for illegal acts of harassment and discrimination.
Mr. Corbyn rejected some of the report’s findings, claiming that the issue had been “dramatically exaggerated for political reasons” by his critics.
His comments prompted Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer to take decisive action against his predecessor.
Sir Keir told reporters: “Yes, after all the pain, all the pain and all the evidence in this report, there are still those who think that there is no problem with anti-Semitism in the Labor Party, that everything is exaggerated, or an attack between factions, so frankly, you’re part of the problem too.
“And you shouldn’t be close to the Labor Party either.”
Sir Keir said the findings of the EHRC investigation marked a “day of shame” for Labor and that he was “truly sorry” for the pain caused.
Mr Corbyn denied that he was “part of the problem” and told broadcasters that he would not quit Labor: “Of course not. I am proud to be a member of the Labor Party, I joined the Labor Party when I was 16 years old, I have fought racism all my life and I will fight racism for the rest of my life.
A Labor Party spokesperson said: “In light of the comments he made today and that he did not retract later, the Labor Party suspended Jeremy Corbyn pending an investigation.
“They have also removed the whip from the Parliamentary Labor Party.”
The EHRC investigation found evidence of “political interference” by the office of the then leader, Mr. Corbyn, in the complaint process.
EHRC Acting President Caroline Waters said there had been “unforgivable” failures that “appeared to be the result of an unwillingness to address anti-Semitism rather than an inability to do so.”
The watchdog identified three violations of the Equality Act related to political interference in complaints, lack of adequate training for those handling anti-Semitism cases, and harassment.
The party received a notice of illegal act and has been given until December 10 to draft an action plan to implement the report’s recommendations. The notice is legally enforceable by the courts if it is not followed.
The EHRC found 23 instances of inappropriate involvement by the Leader of Opposition’s Office (LOTO) and others in the 70 files that the watchdog examined.
They included LOTO staff influencing decisions, including about suspensions or whether claims should be investigated.
The watchdog found that a lack of training for people handling anti-Semitism complaints indirectly discriminated against Jewish members until August 2020, at which point Sir Keir Starmer was the leader of the party.
Labor has committed to adequate training, and the EHRC recommends that it be mandatory and fully implemented in six months.
The watchdog highlighted the actions of former London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Pam Bromley, who was a councilor in Rossendale, Lancashire, during the dispute over anti-Semitism.
The EHRC said Labor was responsible for their anti-Semitic conduct, which resulted in a finding of illegal harassment, because they were acting as party agents.
But the report said this was only the tip of the iceberg and 18 other “borderline” cases were found, involving councilors, local election candidates, and electoral party officials where there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the Labor Party was legally responsible. of their conduct.
Recommendations made by the watchdog include commissioning an independent process to handle complaints of anti-Semitism and recognizing the effect that political interference has had and implementing clear rules to prevent it from happening again.
EHRC Principal Investigator Alasdair Henderson told a press conference that no one person could be blamed and that the problem went beyond Corbyn, but added that “as party leader and with evidence of political interference since within his office, he has an ultimate responsibility for those failures. “
The Jewish Labor Movement said the blame for the “sordid and shameful chapter” in the party’s history “rests firmly with those who held leadership positions.”
Gideon Falter of the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Jeremy Corbyn and those around him who participated in, or permitted, the gas bombing, harassment and victimization of Britain’s Jewish minority are forever ashamed.”
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said the report was a “historic landmark for the Labor Party.”
The chairwoman of the British Jewish Board of Deputies, Marie van der Zyl, welcomed Corbyn’s suspension, saying: “Having presided over the descent from a proudly anti-racist party to a party that violated the equal treatment law Jews, his shameless comments today showed that he is still part of the problem and is an obstacle to solving the problem. – PA
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