Twelve Labour members expelled over anti-Semitism as party looks into 673 alleged cases since April, figures show

Labour's general secretary Jennie Formby
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Megan White11 February 2019

Just 12 Labour members have been expelled over anti-Semitism since April out of hundreds of alleged cases, according to a letter from the party’s general secretary.

Releasing the data on Monday, Jennie Formby said Labour has considered 673 cases of alleged anti-Semitism in the last ten months, with members either suspended or formally investigated in just under half (307) of those cases.

According to the letter, 96 members had been immediately suspended and 211 were issued with a notice of investigation.

Of the remainder, 146 received first written warnings and 220 cases did not have sufficient evidence to proceed.

A spokesman for Labour said the party is "committed to tackling anti-Semitism and rooting it out of our party once and for all".

Forty-two members were referred to Labour’s highest disciplinary body, the National Constitutional Committee, with 18 decisions made so far.

Of these, 12 members have been expelled by the NCC and six have received sanctions.

The remainder are waiting completion of their case.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to root out anti-Semitism
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Jennie Formby wrote to the Parliamentary Labour Party to update them on the progress being made to tackle anti-Semitism in the party.

She said that she had seen “hard evidence” of anti-Semitism in the party and is “determined to do whatever is possible to eliminate it”.

She added: "I can guarantee that we now have robust procedures to deal with it whenever it is identified."

The letter was sent ahead of a meeting on Monday night.

The data also indicated more than 400 complaints about non-Labour members.

A Labour Party spokesman said: “Jennie Formby, after obtaining the NEC’s agreement, has published the figures on antisemitism complaints handled by the Party and published a report on the work the Party has done and is doing to speed up and strengthen our procedures, increasing transparency.

“These figures relate to about 0.1 per cent of our membership, but one antisemite in our party is one too many. We are committed to tackling antisemitism and rooting it out of our party once and for all.”