Labour's Jennie Formby prompts anger by cancelling meeting of antisemitism working group, despite vow to tackle crisis

Reacting to the decision to postpone the meeting on Thursday, Richard Angell, director of the centre-left Progress group told the JC: “With the antisemitism crisis engulfing the party – why won’t the Momentum dominated working group come together to review the party’s policy on the IHRA definition, discuss how suitable to is for Peter Willsman to continue on the NEC and commission the Jewish Labour Movement to run this ‘political education training’ that has been promised for months?

“This is supposed to Jennie Formby’s top priority and part of Jeremy Corbyn’s response as a militant ally on antisemitism. Like expediting the antisemitism disciplinary cases, rather than action, it is just more delays from Labour’s new establishment.”

At their previous meeting, the same sub-committee voted to unanimously approve Labour’s controversial new code of conduct on antisemitism that sparked massive controversy.

The code, which the party adopted instead of the full internationally recognised definition of Jew-hatred, was then approved without a vote at the July 17 NEC meeting at which Jeremy Corbyn sat silently as Mr Willsman dismissed allegations of antisemitism in the party from what he called “70 rabbis.”

A Labour source added: “The irony that Jennie is having to cancel meetings due to others taking holidays in August when she look a fortnight’s holiday in July, over her so called deadline for dealing with the likes of Jackie Walker, is not lost.”

A Labour Party spokesperson said:"The meeting hasn't be cancelled. The date has been changed to ensure a majority of working group members can attend.

"The NEC recently agreed reforms to speed up and strengthen the Party's processes for tackling antisemitism.

"These concrete actions are already being implemented and are not affected by the date the working party meets."