Dossier of evidence on Labour anti-semitism alleges ‘interference’

Seventy Labour Party staffers past and present have submitted sworn statements to the official investigation into anti-Semitism in the party, providing shocking detail of claims against members and alleging “interference” in the independent complaints process.

A Labour spokesperson said the party was not institutionally anti-semitic. Picture: Getty

According to testimonies submitted to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission by lawyers representing the Jewish Labour Movement, one Jewish member was called a “child killer”, “Zio scum”, and a “Tory Jew” at a party meeting, as well as being told “Hitler was right”.

Another describes a party official “who objected to 25 applications for membership from the ultra-orthodox Jewish community and required home visits to these prospective members’ houses”.

Asked if an assertion by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn that every case of anti-Semitism had been dealt with was incorrect, James Libson, a partner at the Mishcon de Reya law firm, told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “Very much so.”

He said: “There are many, many outstanding complaints, many examples of interference and many examples of double standards in the way in which complaints are processed.”

Mr Libson also claimed that confidential information relating to complaints had been improperly passed to senior Labour figures “by USB sticks, by WhatsApp groups, secret WhatsApp groups”.

“There has been interference and that interference has unfortunately become institutional,” he said.

A Labour spokesperson said the party was not “institutionally anti-semitic”, adding that “any former staff would not know how our procedures currently work, after significant reforms” and insisting the evidence contained “untrue allegations about outstanding cases”.