CAA submits legal arguments to Equality and Human Rights Commission calling for a full statutory investigation into illegal antisemitic discrimination and victimisation within the Labour Party

Campaign Against Antisemitism has submitted detailed evidence and legal arguments to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, urging the Commission to open a statutory investigation into discrimination against Jews and victimisation of those who oppose antisemitism within the Labour Party.

Under section 20 of the Equality Act 2006, the Commission may open an investigation “if it suspects that the [legal] person concerned may have committed an unlawful act” under equality legislation. The legislation grants the Commission sweeping investigatory and enforcement powers, including to compel the Labour Party to produce internal documents, policies and even e-mails or text messages.

If the Commission investigates, any disclosures could shed considerable light on the Labour leadership’s handling of the crisis. Few documents have reached the public, but one of the many reports prepared internally by the Labour Party’s Compliance Unit was leaked and is now the subject of a criminal investigation by the Metropolitan Police Service after alleged hate crimes detailed within it, which were concealed by the Party, were reported to the police by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

Gideon Falter, Chairman of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “In July, we referred the Labour Party to the scrutiny of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and the Commission asked us for a detailed legal submission which we instructed counsel to prepare. We have now submitted an extensive legal dossier setting out the case for a statutory investigation by the Commission on the basis that under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, the Labour Party has become institutionally antisemitic and has persistently and repeatedly acted unlawfully by discriminating against Jewish members and victimising those within Labour who stand up to antisemitism.”