Lancashire Labour ‘Fingered’ in Emails About Corbyn ‘Anti-Semitism Inaction’

A Lancashire Labour councillor is the focus of an AntiSemitism furore today which has spread around the world. TheSunday Times front page today is headlined: “Labour’s hate files expose Jeremy Corbyn’s anti‑semite army;Leaked emails reveal party’s ‘shocking’ failure to act .

The story has gone around the world in minutes.

https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/labour-failed-to-take-action-against-antisemities-leaked-documents-reveal/

No Southport Labour members have, so far, been identified in the national pile of Labour Anti Semitism complaints where investigations show nothing has been done.

The Sunday Times describes how, despite Jeremy Corbyn’s public assurances, the Labour Party nationally has failed to take action in hundreds of anti-Semitism cases, A Lancashire Labour Councillor has been let back into the party after being accused of repeated anti-Semitic social media comments. As reported in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph this week, Whitewell Councillor Pam Bromley had said on Facebook:

“We must remember that Rothschilds are a powerful family (like the Medicis) and represent capitalism and big business – even if the Nazis DID use the activities of the Rothschilds in their anti-Semitic propaganda. We must not obscure the truth with the need to be tactful.”

Rossendale and Darwen Conservative MP Jake Berry is quoted in the LET as saying: “This shows that the national crisis over anti-Semitism which is engulfing the Labour party is alive in Rossendale.”

There have been other Labour AntiSemitism enquiries in Lancashire. In May 2016, Blackburn with Darwen’s Councillor Salim Mulla and Burnley’s Shah Hussain were both suspended by Labour over alleged anti-Jewish posts. After an investigation both were cleared and reinstated.

The Sunday Times now reports leaked documents showing that Labour failed to take disciplinary action in hundreds of Ani-Semitism cases reported to party HQ. And a leaked audio tape has emerged showing conversations on AntiSemitism between Dame Margaret Hodge and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Dame Margaret, who has previously accused members of Jeremy Corbyn’s inner circle of interfering in the outcome of anti-Semitism cases, is heard in this secretly-recorded tape accepting assurances from Jeremy Corbyn that antiSemitism would be tackled in Labour and there would be no interference from his office in individual cases.

But leaked Labour internal documents show the party’s system for dealing with complaints had been beset by delays, inaction and interference from the leader’s office. Some Labour members investigated for posting comments online such as “Heil Hitler” and “Jews are the problem” had not been expelled despite complaints being made a year ago, while Jeremy Corbyn’s office had been involved in approving, delaying or blocking at least 101 complaints.

But Labour said lines from internal emails had been “selectively leaked” to “misrepresent their overall contents”, adding that it was “committed” to rooting out anti-Semitism within the party.

According to The Sunday Times, a Labour hard drive of emails and a confidential database last updated on March 8th of this year, showed a trade union official being readmitted to Labour after being accused of sharing material saying “Jewish Israelis” were behind the Twin Towers massacre in New York. In another case, a party official ruled that a Labour council candidate accused of describing Jewish MPs as “Zionist infiltrators” met the threshold for suspension, but then ruled he shouldn’t be suspended as he “is a candidate”.

The newspaper says that 454 of 863 Labour anti Semitism complaints were unresolved, including 249 where the party had not even started an investigation. Out of 409 cases where a decision was reached, 191 members faced no further action, 145 received a formal warning and fewer than 30 were expelled.

Labour said the figures quoted in the story were “not accurate”. A spokeswoman said: that “All complaints about anti-Semitism are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures. We can’t comment on individual cases.” Labour insisted that it was “categorically untrue” to suggest that staff in the leader’s office overturned recommendations in cases.

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