Jeremy Corbyn to fight suspension from Labour after EHRC antisemitism report comments – politics live
Corbyn #Corbyn
12.35pm EDT 12:35
Financial support is coming in to the crowdfunder set up after reports that Jeremy Corbyn faced being sued by Panorama presenter John Ware, tweets Kate Proctor, Political Editor of Politics Home.
The Labour party apologised “unreservedly” earlier this year and paid out a six-figure sum to seven former employees and Ware, a veteran BBC journalist, admitting it defamed them in the aftermath of a Panorama investigation into its handling of antisemitism.
The settlement and formal apologies to both the reporter, John Ware, and the ex-employees, which have been read in open court, is believed to have cost the Labour party around £600,000, with about £180,000 in damages agreed for the eight individuals.
But Corbyn said he was disappointed by the settlement, calling it a “political decision” and said it “risks giving credibility to misleading and inaccurate allegations about action taken to tackle antisemitism in the Labour Party in recent years.”
12.22pm EDT 12:22
Keir Starmer says he “fully supports” move to suspend Jeremy Corbyn
The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has been speaking again to the media, saying that he fully supports Jeremy Corbyn’s suspension.
“I made it clear that we would not support antisemitism or the denial of antisemitism through the suggestion that it is exaggerated or factional and that is why I was disappointed by Jeremy Corbyn’s response and that is why appropriate action has been taken, which I fully support,” he said in a broadcast interview.
It was important that he did not interfere in any investigation which Labour had undertaken, he added, but it would “look into” the statement made this morning by his predecessor.
12.16pm EDT 12:16
Momentum describes Corbyn suspension as ‘massive attack on the left’
The Labour suspension of Jeremy Corbyn was described by the grassroots campaign group Momentum as “a massive attack on the left” by the party’s new leadership.
Momentum, which was set set up in 2015 to support the leftwing of the Labour party under the leadership of Corbyn, said the suspension should be immediately lifted in the interests of party unity.
The EHRC report is a reminder that whatever the values and history of the Labour party, Momentum said in a statement, adding that the party “can and must do better”.
“We must also make sure that over the coming weeks, this important report is not mis-used factionally. The overwhelming majority of socialists in the Labour party are motivated by the prospect of a better world, and many have spent their lives fighting against antisemitism and racism in their communities and on the streets.”
However, on Twitter it was deeply critical of the Corbyn suspension:
Updated at 12.20pm EDT
12.06pm EDT 12:06
Today’s response by the Labour party “marks an important milestone in eliminating the scourge of hatred and antisemitism from a historic and important party in Britain,” according to a former leader of the Israeli Labor party, which cut ties with Jeremy Corbyn in 2018.
Isaac Herzog, who is now chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, issued a statement under the banner of the organisation, which acts as a link to Israel for Jewish people around the world.
He was particularly critical of Jeremy Corbyn, recalling that he had invited the then UK Labour leader to visit Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, “in order to learn more about the Holocaust and its lessons”.
I emphasised to him the importance of such a visit for the chairman of a leading party in Britain. He never responded to me. Nor did he respond to my appeal to him, as chairman of The Jewish Agency, to eradicate his party of antisemitism. The lack of his responsiveness was glaring.
Today’s decision by the UK Labour party marks an important milestone in eliminating the scourge of hatred and antisemitism from a historic and important party in Britain. The Labour party is setting an example to the entire world in removing antisemitism from the political game.
Corbyn cited diary difficulties as the reason for declined the invitation to Yad Vashem, the Guardian reported in 2018.
Updated at 12.17pm EDT
11.53am EDT 11:53
The Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs has issued a statement on Twitter saying it firmly opposes the decision to suspend Jeremy Corbyn from the Labour party.
“We will work tirelessly for his reinstatement,” added the statement by the group, which is made up of MPs on the left of the parliamentary party.
Founded by Tony Benn nearly 40 years ago, it supported Rebecca Long-Bailey’s campaign to become Labour leader during the contest earlier this year and counts more than 30 Labour serving MPs in its membership.
Updated at 12.17pm EDT
11.38am EDT 11:38
Today’s EHRC report is tougher than expected, according to the Labour MP Margaret Hodge, who has written a piece for the Guardian.
For those who were the targets of the relentless abuse as antisemitism spread in the Labour Party, she writes, it was “a dreadful, lonely and frightening period of our lives”.
In her nearly 60 years of membership of the Labour party she had lived through many ups and downs, but none as debilitating and horrible as the time spent battling antisemitism within the party.
The torrent of abuse was gruesome, especially after each time I openly challenged the racism in my party. People often tie together my Jewish identity with the fact that I am a woman.
So I am regularly accused of being a Zionist pig, a Tory hag, a racist shill or being a dizzy old bint who should be executed by Hezbollah.
Hodge, who joined others at a press conference given by the Jewish Labour Movement earlier today, said the “tragic legacy” of Jeremy Corbyn’s tenure as Labour leader was that it meant energy which could have been channelled into fighting the Conservatives and striving for a Labour government was lost.
“He alienated Jews, he failed the Labour party, and he let down the country,” she concluded.
Labour Party MP Margaret Hodge attends a press conference of the Jewish Labour Movement at the offices of law firm Mishcon de Reya in London on Thursday. Photograph: Ian Vogler/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 11.49am EDT
11.22am EDT 11:22
The Labour MP and mayor of the Sheffield City Region, Dan Jarvis, has said there is “no place in Labour for antisemites or their apologists”.
Andrew Adonis, the Labour peer who called today for Jeremy Corbyn to leave parliament after the EHRC report was published, meanwhile likened Keir Starmer’s handling of the issue to Neil Kinnock’s expulsion of the Militant Tendency from Labour.
Updated at 11.49am EDT
11.18am EDT 11:18
The former Labour leader hasn’t always welcomed the presence of the media on his doorstep but the Guardian’s deputy political editor, Jessica Elgot, has this on how a photographer was more informative than the Labour party headquarters:
Meanwhile, PA Media has reports that resignations from the Labour party in protest at Corbyn’s suspension have started. A member of 10 years has left in protest at the move, describing it as an “abysmal decision”.
“The facts, as far as I see them, are that Jeremy Corbyn has shown a lifelong distaste for racism of any bent,” said Andrew Cassidy, 44, from near Glasgow.
“Being pro-Palestinian is conflated as anti-Semitism, both by the mainstream media and, now, by Labour Party grandees,” Cassidy claimed.
“I am proud to be anti-racist. I am proud of my socialist ideals and believe that only a culture of zero tolerance to racism of any stripe is an achievable goal. Sadly, a good man has been hung out to dry in order to distance Starmer’s Labour from the progressive, inclusive party that Corbyn aimed for.”
Updated at 11.50am EDT
11.10am EDT 11:10
The Conservatives are pulling out the stops on social media to draw attention to Keir Starmer’s past support for Jeremy Corbyn, though not everyone (including Labour critics) are convinced of the attack line’s potency. Here’s the former Ukip MEP – now SDP member – Patrick O’Flynn on a Tory Gif:
Updated at 11.13am EDT
11.04am EDT 11:04
Jeremy Corbyn will contest ‘political intervention’ to suspend him
Jeremy Corbyn has issued a new statement on Facebook to say that he will “strongly contest the political intervention” to suspend him.
“I’ve made absolutely clear that those who deny there has been an antisemitism problem in the Labour party are wrong,” added the former Labour leader in the latest of his statements on Facebook today.
“It’s also undeniable that a false impression has been created of the number of members accused of antisemitism, as polling shows: that is what has been overstated, not the seriousness of the problem.”
“I will continue to support a zero tolerance policy towards all forms of racism. And I urge all members to stay calm and focused – while this problem is resolved amicably, as I believe it will be – to defeat this awful government, which is further impoverishing the poorest in our society.”
My colleague Peter Walker makes the point on Twitter that this indicates Corbyn’s likely defence – “he’s not downplaying the seriousness of antisemitism in Labour, just arguing that the number of cases had been misreported, and thus exaggerated”
Updated at 11.28am EDT
10.57am EDT 10:57
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.
Updated at 11.01am EDT
10.47am EDT 10:47
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.
Updated at 11.02am EDT
10.33am EDT 10:33
Corbyn suspension ‘profoundly wrong’ – John McDonnell
The 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 11.02am EDT
10.30am EDT 10:30
While the Conservatives have been seeking to heap more pressure on Labour – five tweets in an hour from the party co-chair, Amanda Milling, directed at Keir Starmer’s handling of and response to the EHRC inquiry – Tory figures are being reminded of their o 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 11.04am EDT
10.21am EDT 10:21
The Corbyn suspension has prompted some pub-quiz-style discussions about the precedent it sets for his constituency
Updated at 11.11am EDT
10.15am EDT 10:15
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
10.01am EDT 10:01
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