Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn suspended

In a statement today, a Labour Party spokesman said: “In light of his comments made today and his failure to retract them subsequently, the Labour Party has suspended Jeremy Corbyn pending investigation.

“He has also had the whip removed from the Parliamentary Labour Party.”

A report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission found the Labour party responsible for ‘unlawful’ harassment and discrimination when Mr Corbyn was leader.

But Mr Corbyn said the scale of anti-Semitism within Labour had been ‘dramatically overstated’.

In a broadcast interview he said: “The numbers of cases in the public perception had become overstated.

“The existence of the problem, I fully acknowledge, which is why I took action to end the problem in the party by introducing a process to get anti-Semites out of the party.”

He has failed to retract his comments.

Labour leader Keir Starmer said the findings of the report marked a ‘day of shame’ for the party.

Board of Deputies of British Jews, president Marie van der Zyl, welcomed Mr Corbyn’s suspension from the Labour party.

She said: “We welcome the decision of the Labour Party to suspend Jeremy Corbyn.

“Having presided over the descent of a proudly anti-racist party into a party that broke equalities law in its treatment of Jews, his shameless comments today showed that he remains part of the problem and is an obstruction to the resolution of the issue.”

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.