Antisemitism used 'as a factional weapon' in Labour

The "Labour Leaks" file contained private messages from party staff criticising the leadership of Jermy Corbyn and his team and claimed that “factional opposition” towards the veteran leftwinger was partly to blame for the ineffective handling of antisemitism complaints.

It claimed there was “abundant evidence of a hyper-factional atmosphere prevailing in party HQ in this period, which appears to have affected the expeditious and resolute handling of disciplinary complaints”.

The report - which was prepared for the Equality and Human Rights Commission but never sent - claimed party staff with responsibility for complaints "were bitterly opposed to the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, and seem to have been demotivated, or largely interested in work that could advance a factional agenda”.

It said: “At its extreme, some employees seem to have taken a view that the worse things got for Labour the happier they would be, since this might expedite Jeremy Corbyn’s departure from office."

It included WhatsApp messages from staff referring to others as “trots”, and referring to former director of communications Seumas Milne as “dracula.”

One described his former chief of staff Karie Murphy as “medusa”, a “crazy woman” and a “bitch face cow” that would “make a good dartboard.”

While another expressed the hope that a young supporter of Mr Corbyn with mental health problems "dies in a fire."

Supporters of Mr Corbyn said the leak showed that people in Labour HQ had undermined his leadership and the party’s 2017 election campaign.

Mr Forde’s much delayed report was handed over to Labour's ruling NEC this morning. 

It said the party had spent recent years “in conflict with itself” and described a “toxic” atmosphere in the party fuelled by factionalism.

It claimed that “both factions” in the party treated antisemitism “as a factional weapon”.

The report said: "The evidence clearly demonstrated that a vociferous faction in the party sees any issues regarding antisemitism as exaggerated by the right to embarrass the left.

"It was of course also true that some opponents of Jeremy Corbyn saw the issue of antisemitism as a means of attacking him.

"Thus, rather than confront the paramount need to deal with the profoundly serious issue of antisemitism in the party, both factions treated it as a factional weapon."

The report said there was “little evidence of mutual respect and a great deal of evidence of factionalism, so deep-rooted that the party has found itself dysfunctional”.

It also criticised “a culture of intellectual smugness which exists at the extremes of the political spectrum the party represents."

The report said: “One of the tragedies of this period for the party is that so many have lost sight of the humanity of those who they see as being in an opposing faction, which is perhaps easier than ever in an age where so much of our communication takes place at arms-length through a screen.”

The report added: “We understand the intensity of anger amongst many of the membership at the contents of, in particular, the WhatsApp messages cited in the leaked report.

"Our focus, though, is on how such a toxic situation arose and (more importantly) how it can be avoided in the future.”

The Forde report also criticised “structural problems” within the Labour party’s disciplinary system.

“What we can firmly conclude on the basis of the evidence we have seen is that there were structural problems with the Party’s disciplinary system which meant it was not fit for purpose or able to cope with the increase of complaints which followed the post-2015 surge in membership.

“These systemic issues were seriously compounded by factionalism. In particular, the ‘validation exercises’ which took place in the run up to the 2015 and 2016 leadership elections diverted staff time and cemented a lack of trust between LOTO and HQ which further hampered the party’s ability to deal with antisemitism complaints effectively.

“Whilst it is difficult to reach firm conclusions on the extent of improper interference because of conflicting evidence, we consider that both sides are open to criticism.

“It is our view that the fundamental reasons for the problems in the complaint-handling process were both structural and operational; but it is also clear that the factional culture in which these structural problems arose seriously exacerbated those issues.”

The report said the content of some of the leaked WhatsApp messages expressed “deplorably factional and insensitive, and at times discriminatory, attitudes”.

It continues: “However, we do also accept that the messages’ authors were not given a right of reply before their messages were included in the leaked report; that was a clear breach of natural justice.”

The report also backed the conclusion of a Labour Together report, which found that the party has “spent substantial periods of the last five years in conflict with itself. We were not speaking to the public but arguing amongst ourselves.

“Responsibility for this rests not wholly with one side or part of our movement.”

The report said: “We believe there is a clear need for individuals to see and treat each other better, regardless of their political views.”

Responding to the report, a Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Forde report details a party that was out of control.

“Keir Starmer is now in control and has made real progress in ridding the party of the destructive factionalism and unacceptable culture that did so much damage previously and contributed to our defeat in 2019.”

Mr Corbyn, who now sits as an independent, said the report should give Labour a “path forward”.

He said: “For the Labour Party to be the vehicle for a better and sustainable world, things need to change. The appalling behaviour that Forde calls out, including the repulsive racism and sexism shown to Diane Abbott and others, should have no place in a progressive party.

“Toxic factionalism is far from over – nor are persistent problems of racism and sexism – and action must be taken, as Forde makes clear.

“Most of all, the Party needs to decide what it is for and who decides that. Are we a democratic socialist party, run by members and affiliated unions, that aims for a fundamental transfer of wealth and power from the few to the many? Or are we something else?”

Part of the reason for the delay in the probe - which looked into both the content of the leaked report and the circumstances surrounding its leaking - was because of legal action taken by some of the staff who had their WhatsApp messages published.

Others named in the report are suing the party over a potential data breach.

Labour has also launched its own legal action against five individuals it accuses of leaking the document.

Papers lodged at the high court seeking to place responsibility for the leak on Mr Corbyn’s former director of communications Seumas Milne, chief of staff Karie Murphy, and three other staffers, Georgie Robertson, Laura Murray and Harry Hayball. 

However, in his report, Forde said that he could not identify the source of the leak.