Jeremy Corbyn suspended from Labour party after EHRC antisemitism report comments – politics live
Labour Party #LabourParty
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Constituency Labour Parties have been warned by the party’s general secretary not to “question the competence” of the Equality and Human Rights Commission or reject its report, reports Labour List, the Labour-supporting website funded by unions and others.
Labour List’s editor, Sienna Rodgers, writes that David Evans – who was appointed as the party’s general secretary under Keir Starmer’s leadership – wrote to local party chairs and secretaries.
Evans wrote:
We accept the Commission’s report in full and we will implement all of the recommendations in full. But, we must go further. We need to change the Labour Party’s culture, and that must start straight away.
He also gave instructions to constituency Labour parties that their social media accounts must not be used to comment on the investigation or the report.
Rodgers also has this on the Labour media strategy put in place ahead of today’s EHRC report.
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Three members of Labour’s Socialist Campaign Group – which has counted Jeremy Corbyn in its ranks – say they are currently leaning against resigning the whip in solidarity with Jeremy Corbyn, according to Gabriel Pogrund of the Sunday Times.
He tweets that one of them has said that nothing has been agreed or confirmed yet, with resignations still an option.
Support for the former Labour leader is meanwhile also coming from the Morning Star
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Corbyn suspension “profoundly wrong” – John McDonnell
Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell has described the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn as “profoundly wrong” on Twitter as he urged party members to “stay calm” as the best way to support Labour’s former leader.
“On the day we should all be moving forward & taking all steps to fight anti-Semitism, the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn is profoundly wrong,” he tweeted.
“In interests of party unity let’s find a way of undoing & resolving this.
Updated at 10.34am EDT
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While the Conservatives have been seeking to heap more pressure on Labour – five tweets in an hour from party Chairman Amanda Milling directed at Keir Starmer’s handling of and response to the EHRC probe – Tory figures are being reminded of their own party’s record on Islamophobia
Almost half of Conservative party members believe Islam “a threat to the British way of life,” according to a poll last month which has reignited concerns over Islamophobia within Britain’s ruling party.
The party was accused last year of ignoring systematic Islamophobia in their ranks after Boris Johnson broke his promise to hold an inquiry specifically into the issue and announced a broad-brush review of how the party handles discrimination complaints instead.
Updated at 10.31am EDT
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The Corbyn suspension has prompted some pub-quiz style discussions about the precedent it sets for his constituency
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Labour whistleblowers were offered security 
More than 70 whistleblowers consisting of current or former Labour staff, MPs and officials submitted testimony on antisemitism to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, as part of a coordinated effort by two Jewish Labour councillors who say the process has left them traumatised.
The Guardian can reveal that two of the whistleblowers were offered physical security, guidance against potential cyber-attacks, legal advice and counselling as part of a concerted effort to collect widespread evidence of antisemitism across the party.
The two councillors from the Jewish Labour Movement received 800 pieces of submitted evidence from Labour members of their experiences in the party, which included posters of Donald Trump being left on members’ lawns and threats of violence.
Both Adam Langleben, a former Labour councillor in Barnet, north London, and Peter Mason, who remains a councillor in Ealing, west London, say the experience of submitting evidence to the EHRC cost them their mental wellbeing.
Peter Mason, left, and Adam Langleben. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian
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Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, who was promoted to the shadow cabinet under Corbyn, said the former party leader had “an absolute blind spot” on appreciating the scale of the problem.
Asked by BBC Radio 4 about Corbyn’s suspension, she said: “I’m devastated that it’s come to this. Today should be about really listening, reading and taking in the report.”
She rejected the idea that the issue had been exaggerated for partisan reasons, saying people should read the EHRC report: “I think that brings shame on us, and there’s no mitigation of that, and we have to acknowledge that and do something about it.”
Asked about Corbyn’s response, she said: “I’m deeply, deeply upset by the circumstances, and upset that Jeremy wasn’t able to see the pain that the Jewish community have gone through.
“Jeremy is a fully decent man, but as Margaret Hodge said, he has an absolute blind spot, and a denial, when it comes to these issues. And that’s devastating.”
Updated at 10.06am EDT
9.56am EDT 09:56
Jeremy Corbyn said he will “strongly contest the political intervention to suspend me” from the party.
Updated at 9.57am EDT
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Some using it as an opportunity for a bit of light humour.
Former MP Gavin Shuker, who was one of seven MPs to leave the Labour party in 2019 in protest at Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, tweeted: “Someone should tell Mr Corbyn that sitting as an independent isn’t all that bad.”
Updated at 9.53am EDT
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The full report from my colleague, Jessica Elgot, the Guardian’s deputy political editor.
Updated at 9.53am EDT
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Marie van der Zyl, the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, also welcomed the Corbyn’s suspension from the Labour party.
She said: “We welcome the decision of the Labour party to suspend Jeremy Corbyn.
“Having presided over the descent of a proudly anti-racist party into a party that broke equalities law in its treatment of Jews, his shameless comments today showed that he remains part of the problem and is an obstruction to the resolution of the issue.”
When Van Der Zyl assumed presidency of the organisation in 2018 she pledged that under her leadership the Board of Deputies would continue to press Jeremy Corbyn to take more action against antisemitism in the party.
Van der Zyl said: “Enough is enough and we now need to see actions and not words … which include a swift action in relation to the outstanding disciplinary cases … There’s Ken Livingstone and there’s also the case of Jackie Walker. We are expecting and hoping that that will be resolved by the end of July.”
She said the Board of Deputies would continue to protest and demand inquiries and debates in parliament if no further action was taken.
Updated at 9.42am EDT
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Labour MP Harriet Harman said Corbyn’s suspension is “the right thing to do”.
“If you say that AS [antisemitism] exaggerated for factional reasons you minimise it & are, as Keir-Starmer says, part of the problem.”
Corbyn has been suspended from the party after the human rights watchdog found it broke equality law in its handling of antisemitism.
A damning report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission found the party was responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination.
Corbyn rejected some of the report’s findings and claimed the issue had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons” by his critics.
His comments prompted the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, to take decisive action against his predecessor.
Starmer told reporters: “If – after all the pain, all the grief, and all the evidence in this report – there are still those who think there’s no problem with antisemitism in the Labour party, that it’s all exaggerated, or a factional attack, then, frankly, you are part of the problem too.
“And you should be nowhere near the Labour party either.”
Starmer said the findings of the EHRC investigation marked a “day of shame” for Labour and he was “truly sorry” for the pain caused.
Corbyn denied he was “part of the problem” and told broadcasters he would not quit Labour: “Of course not. I am proud to be a member of the Labour party, I joined the Labour party when I was 16, I’ve fought racism all my life, and I’ll fight racism for the rest of my life.”
A Labour party spokesman said: “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.”
Updated at 9.27am EDT
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Responding to the news Jeremy Corbyn has been suspended from the Labour party, the Conservative party co-chairman Amanda Milling tweeted: “Many will be asking themselves why it took this long to act.
“This morning [Sir Keir Starmer] failed to say seven times that he would take action against Corbyn and now he has been pushed to do so. Hardly leadership.”
Updated at 9.19am EDT
9.16am EDT 09:16
Labour suspends Jeremy Corbyn
Labour has suspended former party leader Jeremy Corbyn over his response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s report into antisemitism in the party during his leadership.
A Labour party spokesman said: “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.”
Updated at 10.19am EDT
9.08am EDT 09:08
Jeremy Corbyn suspended from the Labour party
News just in: Jeremy Corbyn has been suspended from the Labour party. More to follow shortly
Updated at 9.20am EDT