On 2nd June 2019, Ms Forbes’ posts in [1] and [3] were widely reported, and it was reported that she had apologised for liking the Facebook post in [3], claiming that she had “intended to like a video of schoolchildren praying in solidarity with the Christchurch attacks, not the views expressed in the accompanying text.” She also stated she would deepen her understanding of antisemitism.
On the 3rd June 2019 it was reported that the Jewish Labour Movement had withdrawn their support for Ms Forbes and stated that they would not campaign for her in Peterborough.
It was also reported that the Guido Fawkes blog had published allegations that Ms Forbes was an active member of the Peterborough Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which operated a Facebook page containing posts which referred to “Zionist rats” and suggested that Israel had “improper influence” over British politics.
On 7th June 2019, it was announced that Ms Forbes had been elected as MP for Peterborough, beating the Brexit Party by 683 votes. It was reported that Jeremy Corbyn had described her election as a “great win,” whereas a number of Labour MPs expressed concern over lack of Party action over the allegations of antisemitism.
On the same day, Ms Forbes gave a television interview in which she said: “I’ve offered to reach out to the community. I don’t have an antisemitic bone in my body and I’m willing to meet with the community, to talk to the community and I’m sure that if they do that, if they engage with me and listen to what I’ve got to say, I’m sure that they will agree.”
In response to calls for her to be suspended or have the whip removed, a Labour Party source was reported to have said: “Lisa Forbes did not make any comments herself or share any posts. She liked a video about showing solidarity with Christchurch victims without reading the accompanying text, which Facebook users know is an easy thing to do. She has fully accounted for this genuine mistake and apologised”. Jeremy Corbyn was also reported to have defended her, saying: “She has apologised for the remarks that she transmitted through social media…If there are complaints about her they will be investigated, not by me, but by our party system. She has made her position very clear. Lisa Forbes is a good woman. Not a racist in any way whatsoever.”
On 9th June 2019, Barry Gardiner, the Shadow International Trade Secretary, described Lisa Forbes’ liking the Facebook post in [3] as a “careless error”.
On 10th June 2019, it was reported that MPs had challenged Jeremy Corbyn over Lisa Forbes’ election and the Labour Party’s commitment to tackling antisemitism, at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party. Lisa Forbes apologised to MPs in the meeting for ‘liking’ the Facebook post in [3].
On 12th June 2019, it was reported that the Honorary Secretary of Peterborough’s Liberal Jewish community had complained that Lisa Forbes had not been in contact with either her or the national Liberal Judaism body.
On 17th June was reported that Jewish organisations had agreed to meet Lisa Forbes following her written apology.
On 14th July 2019, it was reported that Ms Forbes had said: “I’ve reached out to some of the different community organisations that represent the Jewish community. Both nationally and in Peterborough. I’ve got meetings coming up with those organisations, I’ve got a meeting with the Rabbi who is responsible for the Jewish congregation in Peterborough. I’m determined I will regain the trust of the Jewish community.”
As of 12th November 2019, it is not known whether these meetings took place.
On 8th August 2019, it was reported that Ms Forbes had told the Peterborough Telegraph that she was following the Yad Vashem online training course on antisemitism, describing it as “educational and enlightening” and noting that it was “not a Labour Party course.”
On 13th December 2019, it was reported that Ms Forbes had not been successful in her bid to be re-elected to Parliament.
We do not know whether disciplinary action has been taken by the Labour Party against Ms Forbes, and at the time of writing, on 19th November 2019, we have no record of any. However, the circumstances and outcomes of any such action would likely remain unknown, owing to the conditions of secrecy imposed by Baroness Chakrabarti’s report on antisemitism in the Labour Party.
In November 2019, Campaign Against Antisemitism put this matter to Ms Forbes, but did not receive a response.
On 18th January 2021, it was reported that Ms Forbes had been selected as a candidate for the May 2021 local elections.
On 13th April 2021, Paul Bristow, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Peterborough, tweeted that he had written to the Council’s Labour group leader, noting Ms Forbes’ candidacy and asking why she had not been suspended alongside two sitting Labour councillors whom he had also previously identified to the national Party as involved in “the problem of antisemitism in Peterborough Labour.”