Labour receives draft of EHRC report into antisemitism in party
In a statement, the party said that it had been sent as 'part of a process afforded to us' ahead of the publication of the commission's final report.
Labour has said it has received a draft of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s report on its investigation into anti-Semitism in the party.
In a statement, the party said that it had been sent as “part of a process afforded to us” ahead of the publication of the commission’s final report,.
“It is sent in confidence by the EHRC, so until that process is completed, it would be inappropriate to comment on any of the contents of the draft report – and we will not do so,” the statement said.
“Tackling antisemitism within the Labour Party is a priority and we are determined to take the further action necessary to begin restoring trust with the Jewish community.
“We are committed to co-operating fully with the Commission’s investigation and implementing its recommendations when the final report is published.”
A spokesperson for the Jewish Labour Movement said: “Our decision to refer the Labour Party to the EHRC for investigation in 2018 was taken in response to a growing culture of anti-Jewish racism, bullying and harassment of our members. Since then, we have seen a casual atmosphere of denial grip the party. This must change.
“As a third-party to the investigation, we have not had sight of the draft report. We hope that when it is published, it will provide the kind of impartial and independent scrutiny required to force the party to comply with its duties under the Equality Act and toward our members.”
Gideon Falter, chief executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, the Labour Party became institutionally antisemitic and brought almost half of British Jews to consider fleeing the country. The party must be forever changed after this episode so this can never happen again.
“Those responsible remain in the party and must be held to account if Sir Keir Starmer is to tear antisemitism ‘out by its roots’, as he has promised. The EHRC’s report is a pivotal moment in this corrective process, which is why we made the original referral to the EHRC.”
“Sir Keir told us to judge him not by his words but by his actions, but today marks the first 100 days of his tenure as leader and he has still failed to set out a timeline for fixing Labour’s broken disciplinary process or, with one exception in relation to Rebecca Long-Bailey, take action over incidents in the party. The EHRC has considered a great deal of evidence from us and we will have more to say when the report is published in due course.”
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