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Labour's Dawn Butler 'deeply regrets' Luciana Berger quitting party over antisemitism
Exclusive: Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary failed to meet Ms Berger at any stage to discuss rising Jew-hate in the party
February 27, 2019 18:51
Exclusive: Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary failed to meet Ms Berger at any stage to discuss rising Jew-hate in the party
February 27, 2019 18:51Labour’s Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary has told the JC she “deeply regrets” Luciana Berger's decision to quit the party - amid claims she failed to properly liaise with the Jewish MP to listen to her concerns about antisemitism.
Dawn Butler – one of Jeremy Corbyn’s closest allies – was appointed in 2017 and is expected to closely monitor issues of alleged discrimination among MPs and other Labour officials and members.
But the JC understands that Ms Butler, who was the Shadow Minister for Diverse Communities from October 2016, failed to meet Ms Berger at any stage to allow her to discuss her concerns about rising Jew-hatred with the Party ahead of her shock decision to quit.
And in a further exchange in the House of Commons, again only days before Ms Berger resigned from Labour, Naz Shah, a junior shadow minister underneath Ms Butler, was overheard telling her she could not “speak out publicly on these issues”.
Insiders say the lack of contact with Ms Butler was deeply frustrating for Ms Berger ahead of her decision to finally quit the party for The Independent Group on February 18, and made even more surprising because Ms Berger had previously campaigned for her in the London Borough of Brent before becoming an MP herself.
The JC previously revealed how Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had snubbed Ms Berger – despite the increasingly malicious threats she received from pro-Corbyn activists which eventually led to police being called in to investigate.
But sources say Ms Berger “expected better” from Ms Butler, who is said to have only reached out to speak with Ms Berger one hour before she and seven colleagues quit the party in dramatic fashion at a press conference.
Before that the Jewish MP is believed to have had next to no contact with the Brent Central MP – other than an email requesting that she add her signature to an Early Day Motion in March 2017.
Sources close to Ms Butler insisted that she tried to make contact with Ms Berger and the Jewish Labour Movement in 2016 – but no date could be finalised for the meeting.
Ms Butler told the JC: “I deeply regret that Luciana resigned from the Labour Party.
“The antisemitic abuse she received from both within and without our Party is abhorrent, and any members responsible must be dealt with in the strongest terms.
"As I said at Labour’s Women’s Conference on Saturday, if you are antisemitic you are not welcome in our party.”
The JC has also learned that Ms Berger was approached in the Commons chamber on the Thursday before her resignation by Ms Shah.
Ms Shah, the MP for Bradford who vowed to fight for equality for women and other marginalised groups, was overheard telling Ms Berger: “I’m sorry I can’t speak out publicly on these issues.”
This provoked a startled look from the Jewish MP who appeared to ask why Ms Shah felt this way. Ms Shah suggested the pair discuss the matter further over a coffee.
Ms Berger was then overheard saying: “If you think in your position in particular that you can’t speak out about antisemitism then there is nothing for us to discuss.”
