How long does it take the Conservatives to investigate alleged antisemitism? Today marks one year since the Party announced three investigations, two of which are still outstanding
Today is the one-year anniversary of the Conservatives’ announcement of three antisemitism investigations. To date, the Tories have only disclosed that one has concluded, with those into Sally-Ann Hart MP and Lee Anderson MP apparently still outstanding. The Party must complete these investigations immediately and publish the outcomes.
In the closing days of the General Election in December 2019, the Conservative Party announced that it was commencing investigations into alleged antisemitism on the part of three Parliamentary candidates – Sally-Ann Hart, Lee Anderson and Richard Short – two of whom won their seats.
Only some of the allegations were reported at the time; others are still unknown.
We have received confirmation from the Conservative Party that the investigation into Richard Short has concluded, but while the Party has claimed to us some months ago that the investigation into Lee Anderson was near completion, we have not been provided with any further updates, nor has any public disclosure been made.
The investigations, during which the subjects were not suspended from the Party, have now taken a full year since they were announced, and there is still no indication of when the investigations might be formally concluded and the outcomes disclosed.
One of the MPs, Sally-Ann Hart, claimed in a television interview several months ago that a panel investigation relating to her had also been concluded and that she had attended social media training, but there has been no public announcement.
In the absence of any public disclosures by the Party, as far as we are concerned the investigations into Lee Anderson MP and Sally-Ann Hart MP are still open until the public is verifiably informed otherwise.
Ironically, since not all of the allegations have been made public, their gravity cannot be assessed, leaving the Party’s procedural failures in the spotlight.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Today we mark the one-year anniversary of an announcement of three investigations into antisemitism by the Conservative Party. One of them has concluded, but the Party has declined to disclose the progress in two of the others, which both relate to sitting MPs.
“These investigations were reassuringly announced by the Conservatives at the end of last year, in some cases before the allegations were even known to the public. But there is no justification for these investigations to be taking this long. These are not murder investigations, and the Tories now risk making their poor procedures and lack of transparency, rather than the allegations themselves, the real story. The Conservative Party must conclude these investigations immediately and finally publish the results.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.
