The work of the Labour Party's Governance and Legal Unit in relation to antisemitism, 2014–2019

The work of the Labour Party's Governance and Legal Unit in relation to antisemitism, 2014–2019 is a leaked Labour Party dossier written by party staff in response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission's investigation into the party's handling of antisemitism complaints and includes reports of other forms of racism. The report reveals emails of senior party management staff, aligned with the right of the party, wherein there was clear obstruction of justice in dealing with cases of antisemitism and other noted cases of racism, and it does not clear the party of accusations of being "institutionally antisemitic". Although the report clearly states that it "thoroughly disproves any suggestion that antisemitism is not a problem in the Party", or that it is all a 'smear' or a 'witch-hunt', its main assertion is that rampant factionalism within the party had ultimately led to antisemitism and racism allegations not being dealt with properly.

The dossier was first reported by Tom Rayner, political correspondent at Sky News, on Twitter on 11 April 2020, then on Sky News itself a day later. He reported that Labour's lawyers had advised against submitting the report to the Commission.[1][2] The news of this dossier had many activists calling for its full publication; it finally leaked and spread through social media. Labour leader Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner then announced an investigation into the report the following day.[3]

Background

The Labour Party has been dealing with a rise in antisemitism complaints since the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party in September 2015.[4] While complaints proceedings over antisemitism and other forms of racism and discrimination had existed prior to Corbyn's election as leader, over the course of his leadership they seemed to have increased and worsened.[5] This has led to several serious issues in the party's approach to antisemitism and failure to deal with it, much of which was associated with Corbyn's alleged inaction.[6]

In May 2019, following complaints submitted by the Jewish Labour Movement and the Campaign Against Antisemitism, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) launched a formal investigation into whether Labour had "unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised people because they are Jewish": specifically, whether "unlawful acts have been committed by the party and/or its employees and/or its agents, and; whether the party has responded to complaints of unlawful acts in a lawful, efficient and effective manner."[7] Jewish Voice for Labour welcomed the investigation by the EHRC.[8] The Labour Party asked the EHRC to communicate any interim recommendations in the course of the investigation.[9]

The report was the result of an internal investigation into Labour's Governance and Legal Unit, which handles disciplinary cases, and was intended to be submitted as the addendum to the party's submission to the EHRC.[10]

Report's contents

On 4 April 2020, newly-elected party leader Keir Starmer said he would look to fully cooperate with the EHRC's investigation into antisemitism in the party.[11] The following week, Sky News reported that an 860-page report into the handling of antisemitism by the party, planned to be sent to the EHRC in addition to previous submissions, would be withheld on the advice of lawyers. The report concluded that there was "no evidence" that antisemitism complaints were treated any differently than other forms of complaint, or of current or former staff being "motivated by antisemitic intent". The report also found that Corbyn's team inherited a lack of "robust processes, systems, training, education and effective line management" and that former senior officials opposed to the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn contributed to "a litany of mistakes" which "affected the expeditious and resolute handling of disciplinary complaints", including providing "false and misleading information" to Corbyn's office on the scale and handling of antisemitism allegations. The report urges the EHRC to "question the validity of the personal testimonies" of former members of staff.[12] The Independent, which saw the dossier in full, stated that the right-wing of the Labour Party weaponised claims of antisemitism—amongst other things—in an active attempt to undermine Corbyn and prevent Labour from winning the 2017 general election in the hope that a poor result would trigger a leadership contest to remove Corbyn as leader.[13]

The Executive Summary clearly states that it "thoroughly disproves any suggestion that antisemitism is not a problem in the Party, or that it is all a 'smear' or a 'witch-hunt'. The report’s findings prove the scale of the problem, and could help end the denialism amongst parts of the Party membership which has further hurt Jewish members and the Jewish community."[14][15][16][17]

The report included hundreds of private WhatsApp messages and emails from Labour staff members, many of them expressing hostility towards Corbyn or his close allies and bemoaning Labour's better-than-expected performance at the 2017 general election. The officials discussed directing election campaign funds to favoured candidates, including the former deputy leader Tom Watson. The dossier also named complainants in antisemitism cases.[18]

There are several figures from the senior management team implicated in obstructing justice in antisemitism complaints, using defamatory language against MPs, staff and members, and hindering Labour's chances of winning during elections. One of the report's key conclusions is that the named figures had not taken disciplinary cases seriously and intended for it to reflect badly on the leader. There is a report of a senior governance executive "fabricat[ing] a case" against people "she doesn't like", and one staffer admitted that "real work" was "piling up" while they "were engaged in inappropriate factional work". In the period between November 2016 and February 2018 the figures named in the report, who were in charge of member disciplinary procedures, had only taken action on 16% of all complaints made about members engaging in antisemitism.[12]

The report lists examples of the named figures using insulting and aggressive language towards Labour politicians, staff and members. This includes terms like "trots" and "bitch face cow".[19][12] The report describes them repeatedly using derogatory mental health tropes, including terms like "mentalist" and "nutter", and repeatedly disparaged the appearance of party staff and members, using terms like "pube head", "smelly cow" and "fat".[19] The report found they also made comments saying that certain party members should "die in a fire"[20] and that a senior aide's "face would make a good dartboard".[19] According to the report, Labour MPs were also targets as they said that those MPs who nominated Corbyn should be "taken out and shot" amongst other disparaging remarks. Labour politicians who were insulted in the comments were: Ed Miliband, Sadiq Khan, Dawn Butler, Diane Abbott, Rachael Maskell, Clive Lewis and Corbyn. They also expressed anti-black racism and sympathy towards Islamophobic tropes. The report also documents talk of violence against Corbyn; talking about "hanging and burning" him, calling him a "lying little toerag", claiming "death is too kind for LOTO ['Leader of the Opposition']". Senior management were found to be telling staff that they need not be "comradely" in their attitudes and statements about the leader.[12]

The report alleges that there was constant talk of hoping Labour loses key elections in order to instigate a coup and remove Corbyn as leader. It documents statements expressing that Labour should be on the losing side for the 2016 local elections and 2016 European Union referendum. Furthermore, the report says there is overwhelming evidence of the senior management obstructing party efforts to win the 2017 United Kingdom general election in order to remove Corbyn. It says that the management team co-ordinated in "refusing to share basic information to LOTO during the election", created a "parallel general election campaign" and boasted about "hardly working" during the campaign. There are marked statements about their dismay at Labour over-performing expectations during the campaign, and apparent disappointment with the increase in seats after the election.[12]

Reaction

Many MPs, party members and activists within the Labour Party expressed dismay at the contents of the report and called to launch an investigation into the behaviour detailed in the report, including "the possible misuse of funds" by officials.[13] Many Labour politicians across the party's spectrum spoke out against the emails and practices revealed in the report.[21][22][23][24] Prominent Labour activists and supporters called for a full inquiry into the practices of the Labour Party.[25]

Labour MP Charlotte Nichols said that "this document should be published in full" and that "Jewish members have a right to know what has happened and to see the evidence". Labour shadow minister Alex Sobel said: "To read the messages and emails that our own staff conspired to undermine our candidates and starve those in marginal seats of resources is a disgrace. To further read how complaints of antisemitism, Islamophobia, sexual harassment and other complaints were mismanaged due to a toxic internal culture highlights why the EHRC were right to investigate and vindicates the complainants." Momentum called for a full inquiry into the report, including "the possible misuse of funds". Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), which is affiliated with Labour, called for disciplinary action to be launched against the officials named in the report. He said: "This consistent pattern of corrosive behaviour prioritised damaging the left of the party over both winning elections and dealing swiftly with complaints of antisemitism and other forms of racism – it cannot be allowed to fester any longer in the Labour Party. Keir Starmer has said he wants a united party. He should therefore use his new mandate to urgently address this issue, including taking disciplinary action, as appropriate. These people should never again be in senior positions in the Labour Party. Without this internal wrecking, the hung parliament in 2017 could have instead been a Labour government – those involved should wear that for the rest of their professional lives."[13]

BAME Labour members have raised concerns over the treatment of black MPs, with hundreds signing open letters to the new leadership that call for internal party reform and increased transparency.[26] Labour staffers tried to stop the party's Unite the Union branch from sending letters of solidarity to the BAME MPs who were named in a leaked internal report as victims of racism and racial profiling from colleagues at Labour HQ.[27]

Corbyn told Middle East Eye: "I always knew that there was a culture in the Labour party that was not a healthy one, of an almost self-perpetuating bureaucracy. All organisations have a degree of self-perpetuating bureaucracy about them."[28][29][30]

New Statesman editor Stephen Bush stated "the report's summary writes a cheque its findings cannot cash", and also emphasised concerns about the privacy and welfare of the complainants named within the report. An unredacted version was circulated on social media, which led to worries of Jewish activists that they would be targeted by antisemites for speaking up.[31] The report was also criticised by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, who believed it had been written to absolve the Corbyn leadership of the failure to deal with antisemitism.[32]

Investigation

In response to the report's leak, Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner issued a joint statement:[33]

We have seen a copy of an apparently internal report about the work of the Labour Party's Governance and Legal Unit in relation to antisemitism. The content and the release of the report into the public domain raise a number of matters of serious concern. We will therefore commission an urgent independent investigation into this matter. This investigation will be instructed to look at three areas.

  1. The background and circumstances in which the report was commissioned and the process involved.
  2. The contents and wider culture and practices referred to in the report.
  3. Third, the circumstances in which the report was put into the public domain.

We have also asked for immediate sight of any legal advice the Labour Party has already received about the report. In the meantime, we ask everyone concerned to refrain from drawing conclusions before the investigation is complete and we will be asking the GS to put measures in place to protect the welfare of party members and party staff who are concerned or affected by this report.

Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell called for the immediate suspension of some former staff named in the document, pending the results of the independent investigation, and the document should be provided to the EHRC investigation into the party. He said: "They've got to have access to all of the information. We've got to rid ourselves of this culture that prevented a Labour government when we desperately needed one but also, by the looks of it, undermined the party's ability to deal with antisemitism effectively"[34] and wrote that "the revelations in the leaked Labour report are a genuine scandal".[10]

On 23 April, Labour's National Executive Committee held a meeting via Zoom to agree the terms of reference for the independent investigation into the circumstances, contents and release of an internal report to conclude with its own report being published by mid-July. Several amendments were passed by the NEC, including one moved by Rayner that referred to the offer of whistleblower protections.[35] On 1 May, the NEC appointed a four-person panel to investigate the report on the party's handling of internal antisemitism complaints. Martin Forde QC, a barrister was chosen by the NEC to chair the independent inquiry. He will be supported by three Labour peers: Baroness Debbie Wilcox, a councillor and former leader of Newport City Council; Lord Larry Whitty, a former Labour general secretary; and Baroness Ruth Lister, a social policy professor. Momentum chair and NEC member Jon Lansman proposed Alf Dubs as a panel member because there was no Jewish representation. However, this was voted down in the meeting, including by Keir Starmer with the stated reason that Dubs had vocally supported Starmer's leadership bid. It was pointed out by an NEC member that Baroness Wilcox backed Starmer's leadership campaign. However, it was argued by another NEC member that Dubs is a higher-profile backer of the leader. Another factor taken into account was gender balance, particularly as the chair chosen is male. The vote on the proposal to include Dubs was lost 16–18 and there was a request during the meeting for it to voted on again after it was argued that Wilcox had vocally supported Starmer and Rosena Allin-Khan.[36]

In June, Labour's press office provided a statement prepared by party lawyersto journalists covering the story that defended the comments, describing criticism as "po-faced" and stating: "These were messages exchanged between co-workers in the expectation that they would remain private and confidential and the tone of the language used reflects that." In reponse, 13 NEC members (one third of the NEC), including representatives from four trade union from Transport Salaried Staffs' Association, Fire Brigades Union, Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen and Unite the Union wrote to Labour leader Keir Starmer accusing his office of misleading them about how the party dealt with leaked WhatsApp messages by senior officials detailed in the report and accusing party officials of defending "racist, sexist and abusive" messages about colleagues, and "also directly prejudged the specific issues that Martin Forde's inquiry is considering... and thereby undermines its independence". The NEC members called for an apology and retraction from Starmer.[37]

See also

References
  1. Rayner, Tom [@RaynerSkyNews] (11 April 2020). "Exclusive: Labour lawyers decide an 860-page dossier on failures to handle AS complaints, compiled in last months of Corbyn's leadership, should not be sent to the EHRC. Some close to Mr. Corbyn are furious, with one saying: "the truth must come out"news.sky.com/story/labour-antisemitism-investigation-will-not-be-sent-to-equality-commission-11972071 …" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 April 2020 – via Twitter.
  2. Rayner, Tom (11 April 2020). "Labour antisemitism investigation will not be sent to equality commission". Sky News. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  3. Rodgers, Sienna [@siennamarla] (13 April 2020). "NEW: Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner are commissioning an urgent investigation into the internal report" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 April 2020 – via Twitter.
  4. "A guide to Labour anti-Semitism claims". BBC News. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  5. Maddox, David (10 November 2018). "Labour condemned for rise of antisemitism in UK - 'Friends and neighbours are afraid'". Daily Express. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  6. Harpin, Lee (13 December 2018). "Jeremy Corbyn should not get 'benefit of the doubt' over rise of Labour antisemitism, leading author says". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  7. "Watchdog launches Labour anti-Semitism probe". 28 May 2019 – via bbc.co.uk.
  8. "Watchdog investigating Labour antisemitism is breaking its own rules, says Jewish group". Middle East Eye. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  9. Perry, Alice (29 July 2019). "Selections, membership figures, antisemitism – Alice Perry's latest NEC report". LabourList. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  10. McDonnell, John (21 April 2020). "The revelations in the leaked Labour report are a genuine scandal". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  11. "After Corbyn, UK Labour elects Keir Starmer, Zionist with Jewish wife, as leader". www.timesofisrael.com.
  12. Rayner, Tom (12 April 2020). "Labour antisemitism investigation will not be sent to equality commission". Sky News. Retrieved 26 April 2020. The examples from chat archives published in the document include:... Conversations on election night in which the members of the group talk about the need to hide their disappointment that Mr Corbyn had done better than expected and would be unlikely to resign
  13. Stone, Jon (13 April 2020). "Anti-Corbyn Labour officials worked to lose general election to oust leader, leaked dossier finds". The Independent. Retrieved 26 April 2020. An election night chat log shows that 45 minutes after the exit poll revealed that Labour had overturned the Conservative majority, one senior official said the result was the “opposite to what I had been working towards for the last couple of years”, describing themselves and their allies as “silent and grey-faced” and in need of counselling.
  14. "Labour's continuing antisemitism crisis – HOPE not hate". HOPE not hate. 2020-04-14. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  15. Ware, John (2020-05-15). "Panorama, Labour antisemitism and the facts that Novara Media won't publish". Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  16. Walker, Jonathan (2020-05-15). "Anti-Corbyn party officials may have 'prevented a Labour Government'". The Chronicle & Journal. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  17. Aaronovitch, David (2020-04-15). "Labour still tainted by Corbyn's grim legacy - Comment". The Times. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  18. Stewart, Heather (1 May 2020). "Labour appoints panel to investigate leaked report on staff". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  19. "Internal report lays bare poor handling of complaints by Labour". LabourList. 2020-04-12. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  20. "Unite behind Keir Starmer to cleanse Labour's shame". LabourList. 2020-04-15. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  21. Burnham, Andy [@AndyBurnhamGM] (12 April 2020). "Yes, Ben, seems right to me. Always felt like the Party machine opposed my pro-public NHS & social care policies between 2010 & 2015. Not sure I had even-handed treatment from them in either the 2010 or 2015 leadership elections.twitter.com/_benbeach/status/1249419175895891980 …" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 April 2020 – via Twitter.
  22. Barker, Paula [@PaulaBarkerMP] (13 April 2020). "Yesterday's leaked report laid bare the appalling antics of some at Labour HQ. We always knew they hated Jeremy, but I hope it is clear to those from other wings of our party that they deeply hated them too. (1/6)" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 April 2020 – via Twitter.
  23. Sobel, Alex [@alexsobel] (13 April 2020). "A thread on the leaked report on the Labour Party Governance and Legal Unity: I have campaigned for the Labour Party under 4 leaders and for candidates on every wing of the party putting my all into every campaign. 1/5" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 April 2020 – via Twitter.
  24. Lewis, Clive [@labourlewis] (12 April 2020). "Anti Semitism has no place in our party. But it seems when black members and MPs call out racism in the Party, not only are they questioned and second guessed, they're it insulted by own staff as well. Huh, who'd have guessed it? @DawnButlerBrent had a point, as evidenced here.pic.twitter.com/xfbBYAmcZh" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 April 2020 – via Twitter.
  25. Trickett, Jon [@jon_trickett] (12 April 2020). "Today's leaked revelations of alleged behaviour by the most senior Party staff following the election of Jeremy Corbyn, when I was responsible for National Camapign Strategy are astonishing. The report must be published in full" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 April 2020 – via Twitter.
  26. Rogers, Sienna (21 April 2020). "BAME Labour members raise alarm over treatment of black MPs". Labour List. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  27. "Group of Labour staffers try to block support for BAME MPs named in leaked report as racism and racial profiling victim". ITV News. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  28. Hearst, David (1 June 2020). "EXCLUSIVE: Jeremy Corbyn questions impartiality of EHRC antisemitism inquiry". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  29. Syal, Rajeev (1 June 2020). "Corbyn questions impartiality of body conducting antisemitism inquiry". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  30. Rodgers, Sienna (1 June 2020). "Corbyn questions impartiality of body conducting antisemitism inquiry". LabourList. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  31. Bush, Stephen (13 April 2020). "Why Keir Starmer's response to a leaked party report into anti-Semitism is the right one". New Statesman. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  32. Campaign Against Antisemitism [@antisemitism] (12 April 2020). "Mammoth report by @UKLabour detailing anti- @jeremycorbyn conspiracy at Party's HQ is "last ditch attempt to discredit #antisemitism allegations" and must be sent to EHRC antisemitism.uk/labours-mammoth-report-detailing-anti-corbyn-conspiracy-at-partys-hq-is-last-ditch-attempt-to-discredit-antisemitism-allegations-and-must-be-sent-to-ehrc/ …pic.twitter.com/ItkdeILPWx" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 April 2020 – via Twitter.
  33. Rodgers, Sienna [@siennamarla] (13 April 2020). "Joint statement: "We have seen a copy of an apparently internal report about the work of the Labour Party's Governance and Legal Unit in relation to antisemitism. The content and the release of the report into the public domain raise a number of matters of serious concern" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 April 2020 – via Twitter.
  34. Rayner, Tom (15 April 2020). "McDonnell tells Starmer to suspend former staff following leaked antisemitism report". Sky News. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  35. Rogers, Sienna (23 April 2020). "Labour's ruling body agrees scope of investigation into leaked report". Labour List. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  36. Rogers, Sienna (1 May 2020). "Labour's ruling body appoints panel to investigate leaked report". Labour List. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  37. Stone, Jon (4 July 2020). "Keir Starmer faces backlash from Labour's ruling committee after party defends 'racist, sexist and abusive' WhatsApp messages". The Independent. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
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