Jeremy Corbyn has been suspended by the Labour Party.

A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: ‘In light of his comments made today and his failure to retract them subsequently, the Labour Party has suspended Jeremy Corbyn pending investigation. He has also had the whip removed from the Parliamentary Labour Party.’

Earlier today an investigation into anti-Semitism in Labour found the Party had committed ‘unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination’. The report, from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), said it had ‘uncovered serious failings’ in the way complaints were handled until at least 2018, during which time Corbyn was leader.

After it was published, Corbyn released a statement in which he said anti-Semitism was ‘absolutely abhorrent, wrong and responsible for some of humanity’s greatest crimes’.

He went on to describe Labour’s processes for handling complaints as ‘not fit for purpose’ and said his leadership had ‘made substantial improvements, making it much easier and swifter to remove anti-Semites’.

He said: ‘As Leader of the Labour Party I was always determined to eliminate all forms of racism and root out the cancer of antisemitism. I have campaigned in support of Jewish people and communities my entire life and I will continue to do so.

‘The EHRC’s report shows that when I became Labour leader in 2015, the Party’s processes for handling complaints were not fit for purpose. Reform was then stalled by an obstructive party bureaucracy.

‘But from 2018, Jennie Formby and a new NEC that supported my leadership made substantial improvements, making it much easier and swifter to remove antisemites. My team acted to speed up, not hinder the process.’

Corbyn then stated that anyone claiming there is no anti-Semitism in the Labour Party ‘is wrong’, and expressed his regret over how long it took to ‘deal with it’, as Jewish members wanted, and ‘deliver that change’.

He went on: ‘One anti-Semite is one too many,  but the scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media. That combination hurt Jewish people and must never be repeated.

‘My sincere hope is that relations with Jewish communities can be rebuilt and those fears overcome. While I do not accept all of its findings, I trust its recommendations will be swiftly implemented to help move on from this period.’

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