Reports of Labour ‘civil war’ over BBC documentary investigation

The party is braced for the findings of a major documentary investigation into its handling of anti-Semitism claims and the shadow cabinet is also divided over Brexit and whether Labour should campaign to stay in the European Union in another referendum.

Labour’s deputy leader ,Tom Watson, hit out at a clampdown on former staff blowing the whistle on its handling of anti-Semitism allegations ahead of the BBC Panorama documentary, which is due to be aired on Wednesday. “It’s not the Labour way and I deplore it,” Mr Watson said.

The Sunday Times said up to half a dozen former employees have torn up non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to speak to the programme.

According to the paper, lawyers Carter Ruck – acting on behalf of Labour – have written to Sam Matthews, the party’s former head of disputes, warning he could face legal action for breaking his NDA. A letter is reported to warn that the party “cannot be expected to and will not tolerate its former employees wantonly disregarding their obligations by selectively leaking information to the media”.

Another former aide also received warnings last year from a different law firm representing Labour, the paper said.

In a further sign of unrest, the Sunday Times reported that two of Mr Corbyn’s closest allies in the shadow cabinet, John McDonnell and Diane Abbott, have called on him to sack key members of his inner circle – chief of staff Karie Murphy and communications and strategy chief Seumas Milne – over claims that they have tried to stop the party taking a more pro-EU stance.

The Sunday Times reported that Ms Abbott has told friends: “They are keeping him captive.”

Mr McDonnell rejected the claims, insisting he had not called for anyone to be sacked.

Shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner defended the party’s use of gagging clauses, insisting they were not being used “to hide anything that is illegal or improper”.

“We use gagging orders only to stop former members of staff from leaking confidential information where we have an obligation to protect individuals and for doing that in a party political or partisan way for political purposes,” he told Sky’s Ridge on Sunday programme.

Mr Gardiner claimed the documentary had “not been balanced and impartial”, and that the former staff involved had a “political axe to grind”.

A spokesman for the documentary, entitled Is Labour Anti-Semitic?, said: “The Labour Party is criticising a programme they have not seen.

“We are confident the programme will adhere to the BBC’s editorial guidelines.”