Anyone catch the Panorama last night? Here's a short 8 minute version showing how much anti-Semitism has rooted itself in the party and how much people's hands were tied by senior members of Corbyns team who were trying to investigate it
Quote:
Senior Labour figures have expressed anger and alarm over claims some of Jeremy Corbyn's closest allies tried to interfere in disciplinary processes involving allegations of anti-Semitism.
Deputy leader Tom Watson said there was a "permissive culture" of anti-Semitism in the party and Mr Corbyn was "the only one" to fix it.
But Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said the leadership was "directly complicit".
Labour has insisted the claims made in Wednesday's Panorama were inaccurate.
They denied any interference and said the former staff who had spoken to the programme were "disaffected".
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the "serious charges" were being "hotly contested", and the process of dealing with complaints in the party had been "improved dramatically".
But Mr Watson said he "deplored the statement made" by the party and to dismiss the testimony of the staff - some of whom had signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) when they left - was "wrong".
Labour's disputes team is supposed to operate independently from the party's political structures, including the leader's office.
BBC Panorama spoke to former party officials, who alleged they had to deal with a huge increase in anti-Semitism complaints since Mr Corbyn became Labour leader in 2015.
Eight former officials who worked in the team and dealt with anti-Semitism cases claimed to the BBC that:
The leader's office was "angry and obstructive" when it came to the issue
Officials brought in by the party's general secretary, Jennie Formby, "overruled" some of their disciplinary decisions and "downgraded" punishments to a "slap on the wrist"
Seumas Milne, one of Mr Corbyn's closest aides, laughed when advised by a long-serving party official about what Mr Corbyn should do to tackle anti-Semitism in the party
On one occasion, Mr Corbyn's office ordered batches of anti-Semitism complaints to be brought to his Commons office for processing by his aides
Full article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48946070
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