Jeremy Corbyn officially launched his campaign to be re-elected as the MP for Islington North last night.

In a packed community centre he said would be a voice for “equality, democracy and hope” as an independent MP.

The former Labour leader, who has represented the north London constituency since 1983 was barred from standing as a Labour Party candidate by the party’s governing body the National Executive Committee (NEC).

Corbyn, who led the Labour Party between 2015 and 2020 has sat without the Labour whip through most of the last Parliament over his refusal to accept the conclusions of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s report on antisemitism in the Labour Party under his leadership.

The report, published in October 2020, found “serious failings in leadership”, and an “inadequate process for handling antisemitism complaints across the Labour Party”, and concluded that “there were unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination for which the Labour Party is responsible”,

In a Facebook post, Corbyn said that the scale of antisemitism in the party was “dramatically overstated” for political reasons by his rivals and the media.

Last night, he also gave a message of solidarity to his left-wing ally Diane Abbott, whose future as MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington hangs in the balance. Corbyn said he was “disturbed” at how she had been treated. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was forced to deny that she had been barred from standing as a Labour candidate amid reports that she had been blocked. However, she has yet to receive the party’s official endorsement.

In a rally on the steps of Hackney Town Hall yesterday evening, Abbott told a crowd of supporters that “as long as it is possible, I will be the Member of Parliament for Hackney North and Stoke Newington".