Labour Party reaches settlement with antisemitism whistleblowers
The Labour Party has reportedly reached a settlement with nine whistleblowers who had brought legal proceedings against the Party after their names appeared in a leaked report about antisemitism.
The nine individuals sued the Party after their names were included in a leaked 850-page report produced in the waning days of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, titled ‘The work of the Labour Party’s Governance and Legal Unit in relation to antisemitism, 2014 – 2019’.
The report, which was a last ditch attempt to discredit antisemitism allegations in the Party, was intended to be sent to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which the new leadership of the Party declined to do, but it was leaked.
That leak is at the centre of another, ongoing lawsuit. It is understood that this settlement does not affect that case.
Campaign Against Antisemitism called at the time for the report to be sent to the EHRC as part of the evidence of antisemitism-denial and diminishment within the Party.
It is understood that the nine whistleblowers and the Labour Party have reached a settlement out of court, with a notice of discontinuance having been filed with the High Court.
The whistleblowers claimed that the Party had breached their rights to data privacy and exposed them to attacks online.
In a separate case, 21 claimants are suing Labour over alleged breaches of their data privacy rights and defamation.
There are estimates that the various cases could cost the Labour Party several million pounds.
A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “We are pleased to be able to move forward in a positive manner. The Labour party is committed to continuing its work on combating antisemitism.”
The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.
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.
