A potentially explosive review into the ‘Labour leaks’ report due to be released today has been delayed for another month.
Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee was expecting that the chairman of the review, Martin Forde, QC, would deliver his report to them today after almost a year of delays.
However, in a letter published yesterday, Mr Forde pulled out of his planned appearance before the NEC, saying the report was “largely completed” but would be delivered next month.
Mr Forde was commissioned by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to look into the leaking of a report written by party staff that denied antisemitism cases were treated differently by Labour’s complaints process and described toxic in-fighting at Labour’s headquarters.
Its claims prompted legal action by senior staff who were named in the report.
The findings of the Forde inquiry into the 2020 leak have been on hold for almost a year pending a separate investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
In his letter, Mr Forde said there had been “much ill-informed speculation about the reasons for the delay.
“I wish to place on record that the delay that the delay has not been caused by any political interference in the drafting of the report or its recommendations by any member of the National Executive, Parliamentary Labour Party, party official, party member of affiliate,” he added.
Its eventual publication threatens to tear open Labour’s wounds again over antisemitism despite Sir Keir’s insistence the party has “closed the door” on the issue.
The NEC meeting today will also discuss a motion to restore the whip to Jeremy Corbyn.
Committee members Ian Murray and Nadia Jama have tabled a motion branding the ongoing exclusion of Mr Corbyn from Labour’s Parliamentary Party as “deeply divisive”.
While the NEC has no power to force Labour Chief Whip Alan Campbell to admit Corbyn back into the parliamentary party, the debate provides a fresh rallying point for the left.
The call has been backed by Richard Burgon, chairman of the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs, who posted online: “You can’t say the Labour Party should be a broad church and then not restore the whip to former party leader Jeremy Corbyn.”
He was joined by Poplar and Limehouse MP Apsana Begum, who posted: “Restore the whip to Jeremy Corbyn” while former Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott tweeted: “Reinstate Jeremy Corbyn.”
Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana wrote: “Jeremy Corbyn was elected as a Labour MP. He is still a Labour member. He must be welcomed back into the Labour Party.”
Mr Corbyn was suspended in October, 2020, after claiming that antisemitism within Labour had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons” despite the damning findings of the Equality and Human Rights Commission exposing the scale of the crisis.
He was readmitted to the party within two weeks by the NEC but the leadership has held out against demands to let him back into the parliamentary fold.
The motion was tabled after claims from Mr Corbyn’s allies that he was considering quitting Labour and setting up his own party, having given up hope of being let back in.
