On 14th November 2018, it was reported that Ms Rathbone had been referred to the General Secretary of the Labour Party for investigation by First Minister Carwyn Jones.
It was also reported that Ms Rathbone had apologised for her statements, and had referred herself for ‘equality training’.
On 20th November 2018, it was reported that Ms Rathbone had been suspended by the Welsh Assembly’s Labour Group.
On 9th January, 2019, it was reported that Ms Rathbone’s suspension from the Welsh Assembly’s Labour Group had been lifted after only seven weeks, but that her comments were still under investigation by the national Labour Party.
It was further reported that the decision to readmit her had been contested by several other Labour members of the Welsh Assembly. The decision had reportedly been taken by former Labour chief whip Julie James following the election of Mark Drakeford (of whom Ms Rathbone was reported to be a key ally) as Welsh Labour leader on 13th December 2018, but before he appointed his cabinet.
On 7th February 2019, it was reported that Ms Rathbone had received a formal warning from the Labour Party and would be ordered to undergo training by a Jewish community charity, the Community Security Trust, something which she had reportedly already volunteered to do.
However, later that day, the Community Security Trust denied having been approached by either Ms Rathbone or the Labour Party with regard to training. It stated: “No requests for antisemitism training have been received for this or any other disciplinary case.”
In a statement on her website, Ms Rathbone wrote: “The Labour Party issued me with a formal warning about the unacceptable remarks I made 15 months ago. I am profoundly sorry for those remarks and for the offence I caused, both to my constituents and the wider Jewish community. I have reflected deeply on my mistakes and wish to do everything I can to enhance my understanding of antisemitism in order to identify it and fight it, wherever it occurs.”
She also wrote that she had met with a representative of another Jewish community charity, the Board of Deputies, in December 2018, saying: “I am grateful to the Board of Deputies for this meeting — an act of generosity in difficult and trying circumstances. The Board’s advice has helped me understand antisemitism and helped me reach out to the Jewish community.”
Ms Rathbone concluded by saying: “The Labour Party has rightly given me a formal sanction about my previous conduct and I am determined to make sure I never repeat that offence again. I will be undergoing training on how I apply the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism to my work.”
At the time of writing, on 17th November 2019, we have no record of another Labour Party case in which a suspension has been lifted before an investigation has been concluded.
The process by which the decisions relating to action taken by the Labour Party against Ms Rathbone were made remains unknown, owing to the conditions of secrecy imposed by the Chakrabarti report into antisemitism in the Labour Party.
We note that, as of 17th November 2019, the offending tweet of August 28th 2018 [1] was still on Ms Rathbone’s Twitter account and had not been removed.
In November 2019, Campaign Against Antisemitism put this matter to Ms Rathbone, but did not receive a response.
In June 2020, Campaign Against Antisemitism put this matter to the Labour Party, but did not receive a response.