On Sunday it was widely reported that Dame Louise was close to quitting Labour in disgust at Mr Corbyn’s failure to clamp down on bullying and antisemitism within the Party.
Another Riverside member at the forefront of the campaign of bullying and intimidation against the MP is John Davies, a member of Labour Against the Witch-hunt, which has defended activists such as Tony Greenstein, expelled by Labour over allegations involving antisemitism.
Former Mayor of Liverpool Malcolm Kennedy, who attended Friday’s meeting of Riverside CLP, confirmed: “Louise stood up at the front to give her report and because they have only got one microphone the chair asked if members wanted to come up and ask her a question.
“Audrey White comes up, doesn’t ask a question – and then just begins to address the audience herself.
“I objected to that. But Louise just stands there with such amazing dignity.”
Mr Kennedy, a local councillor, compared the atmosphere at the meeting to a “Soviet show trial” saying:” ‘It’s the atmosphere, it’s the attitudes.
“They would deny they are trying to bully her out - but in my view they are, yes."
During Friday’s meeting, a motion expressing "complete solidarity with the executive of Wavertree CLP" and which said that allegations that Luciana Berger was forced out of the party by bullying local activists was a "smear", was backed overwhelmingly.
The JC has learned that Ms White, who has supported recent claims by groups such as Jewish Voice For Labour that there “is no sound evidence to back the claims of Labour’s antisemitism”, has received a number of formal warnings from the party over allegations of bullying against party members.
One member received confirmation from Labour which stated: “Audrey White has been issued with a formal NEC warning with regards to her conduct. Her behaviour was deemed to fail to meet the standards expected from the Party.”
In another incident, Ms White falsely claimed that a Labour councillor was under investigation by the police for having “cruelly taunted” a “disabled pensioner suffering from cancer.”
In June last year, Ms White posted a photograph of herself with Unite union boss Len McCluskey and Liverpool Walton MP Dan Carden on her Twitter page.
She wrote: “With Lenny and our fabulous MP from Walton. Lenny has always supported the community branches in our union. They are a powerful force.”
The JC has also obtained a copy of the unpublished report into incidents of antisemitism in Liverpool Riverside, written by senior party staff. It states that Dame Louise was “physically threatened”, called a “JLM [Jewish Labour Movement] bitch” and made to endure “obsessive interrogations” about Israel-Palestine at every meeting.
Click on the PDF below to read the report in full.
It found members “feared for their own or others’ physical safety”.
Activists entered meetings “without proof of membership”, hounded longstanding members and accused Israel of being responsible for Isis, Hamas and al-Qaeda.
It also revealed that at every meeting of the local Party “a significant proportion of each meeting is given over to intense questioning on Israel from the floor following the MP’s report.
“It would appear the issue arises without fail in CLP meetings – regardless of the MP’s report – often as a platform to attack the MP.
“This has on occasion, spilled over into incidents which have drawn allegations of antisemitism, particularly where some members have felt that others are holding the MP – a Jewish woman – personally accountable for the actions of the Israeli government.”
Numerous incidents, either in CLP meetings or during discussions online, were reported to the NEC ahead of the report, including one involving a Labour member who described Zionism as a “danger to Jewish people.”
The report details further witness statements from members which told of meetings and online discussions in which it was claimed: “Every Jew is a ‘Zio-fascist’ if they support Israel’s existence.”
Another member said Israel was “responsible for the global rise in antisemitism” while another said “Jews bear an individual and collective responsibility for the actions of the Israeli government.”
In January 2017, Ms White wrote to Labour’s NEC over the investigation, stating: “There was no bullying and antisemitism this is a fabrication and we will not let this slur against us and our city go unchallenged.”
In the report – which was completed two years ago and submitted to current general secretary Jennie Formby who was then vice-chair of the NEC – it is stated that Jewish members are seriously considering whether to remain as members of Labour.
It adds that Jewish members have “taken legitimate offence” from incidents which “can be deemed antisemitic”.
Asked to comment on Friday’s CLP meeting and the decision to offer solidarity with those behind the bullying of Liverpool Wavertree MP Luciana Berger, who quit the party last Monday, Dame Louise said the conduct of her members was “shameful.”
Asked whether she was about to quit the party, she said: “I am struggling to deal with the current situation.” The JC has contacted Ms White for comment.
