Labour suspends Jeremy Corbyn
Party takes disciplinary action against former leader and he has the whip removed, after claiming the scale of antisemitism had been 'dramatically overstated'
Labour has suspended Jeremy Corbyn from the Party.
This comes after the former leader said the scale of the problem of antisemitism had been “dramatically overstated”, in his statement reacting to the EHRC report.
A Labour spokesperson 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.”
Writing on Facebook after the release of the EHRC’s report, Corbyn said: “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.”
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He added, that “one antisemite 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, as well as by much of the media.”
While hopping that “relations with Jewish communities can be rebuilt and those fears overcome” Corbyn said responded to the EHRC’s publication, saying he does “not accept all of its findings” but will “trust its recommendations will be swiftly implemented to help move on from this period.”
Reacting his suspension, the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Marie van der Zyl, 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.”
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