Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has suspended predecessor Jeremy Corbyn from the party after he said the scale of its anti-Semitism problem had been “dramatically overstated”.
The remark followed a report finding Labour responsible for “unlawful” harassment and discrimination during Mr Corbyn’s time in charge.
Labour said he was being suspended “for a failure to retract” his words.
Corbyn called the move “political” and promised to “strongly contest” it.
Sir Keir, who became Labour leader in April, said the publication of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) report had brought “a day of shame” for the party.
The report found the party responsible for three breaches of the Equality Act:
- Political interference in anti-Semitism complaints
- Failure to provide adequate training to those handling anti-Semitism complaints
- Harassment
The investigation found evidence of 23 instances of “inappropriate involvement” by Mr Corbyn’s office, included staff influencing decisions on suspensions or whether to investigate a claim.
Sir Keir promised to implement the report’s recommendations “as soon as possible in the New Year” and to change Labour’s culture.
Responding to the EHRC’s findings, Mr Corbyn said he was “always determined to eliminate all forms of racism” and “regretted it took longer to deliver… change than it should”.
But he claimed his team had “acted to speed up, not hinder the process”, and that the scale of anti-Semitism in the party had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons”.