Shadow minister to community: ‘Labour will act to restore relations’

The first face-to-face exchange between Jeremy Corbyn’s new shadow minister for diverse communities and Jewish leaders has been described as “robust and frank” – as she acknowledged “there was a lot of work to be done”.

Dawn Butler (pictured), who was appointed to the new role this summer, held talks on Tuesday with figures from the Board of Deputies, Jewish Leadership Council, Community Security Trust, Labour Friends of Israel, Jewish Labour Movement (JLM), Union of Jewish Students and Holocaust Educational Trust.

The unresolved cases of Ken Livingstone and the claims of intimidation around Oxford University Labour Club (OULC) were raised – with a number of members of the delegation stressing it was not possible to engage in meaningful dialogue on issues of broader communal concern that Butler was keen to raise while those cases remain unconcluded.

Get The Jewish News Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

Jewish News understands the Brent Central MP told the group the case against those implicated in the OULC case would be heard in
January.

When challenged that this would be nine moths after Baroness Royall produced her report into the claims, Labour sources told Jewish News there was a sharp exchange between JLM chair Jeremy Newmark and Corbyn’s political secretary Katy Clark, who sat in on the meeting.

Jewish News understands Clark defended the delays in dealing with the Oxford allegations and sought to explain the lack of contact between the party and the original complainants.

Newmark reportedly contrasted this with the speed at which other high profile cases had been dealt when individuals such as Jackie Walker were cleared.

JLM declined to comment on this exchange, and Butler reportedly said she was unable to discuss the Livingstone case as the former mayor is a constituent.

Butler said: “This was a robust, open and frank group discussion. Many issues were raised including certain live disciplinary cases.

“It is clear there is a lot of work to do, but I am determined that we will do what’s needed to restore the historically warm and trusting relationship between the Jewish community and the Labour Party that we all want to see.”

Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.

For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.

Read more

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.

100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...

Engaging

Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.

Celebrating

There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.

Pioneering

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.

Campaigning

Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.

Easy access

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.

Voice of our community to wider society

The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.

We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.

Help us here