Jeremy Corbyn will not return as a Labour MP, Sir Keir Starmer says

Jeremy Corbyn will not be a Labour MP, Sir Keir Starmer has announced.

The Labour leader today explained his predecessor would not have the whip restored, despite being let back into the party.

In a statement this morning, Sir Keir said he knew he would be judged on these “actions, not my words”.

He said: “Since I was elected Labour leader, I have made it my mission to root out anti-Semitism from the Labour Party.

“The disciplinary process does not have the confidence of the Jewish community.

“That became clear once again yesterday.

“It is the task of my leadership to fix what I have inherited.

“That is what I am resolute in doing and I have asked for an independent process to be established as soon as possible.

"Jeremy Corbyn's actions in response to the EHRC report undermined and set back our work in restoring trust and confidence in the Labour Party's ability to tackle anti-Semitism.

"In those circumstances, I have taken the decision not to restore the whip to Jeremy Corbyn.

“I will keep this situation under review."

The announcement is a blow to Mr Corbyn and his allies, with the Islington North MP earlier releasing a video describing himself as a Labour MP again.

Now sitting as an independent, the left-wing MP had this week claimed it was "not his intention" to say anti-Jewish racism should be tolerated, but he refused to apologise.

His statement said: "To be clear, concerns about anti-Semitism are neither 'exaggerated' nor 'overstated'.

"The point I wished to make was that the vast majority of Labour Party members were and remain committed anti-racists deeply opposed to anti-Semitism.”

The former leader was reinstated by a panel of five Labour national executive committee (NEC) members yesterday after last month being suspended from the party by general secretary David Evans.

It sparked a furious backlash, with the Jewish Labour Movement calling the decision "extraordinary".

A spokesman said: "After his failure of leadership to tackle anti-Semitism, so clearly set out in the EHRC's report, any reasonable and fair-minded observer would see Jeremy Corbyn's statement today as insincere and wholly inadequate."

Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said: "What message does this send? Zero tolerance either means zero tolerance or it's meaningless."

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