Published: 22 July 2022
Last updated: 5 March 2024
Report highlights ‘toxicity on both sides’ under Jeremy Corbyn
Destructive infighting in Labour under Jeremy Corbyn meant antisemitism was often used as a “factional weapon” by his critics and denied by his supporters, a damning report into the party’s culture has found.
The Forde report details “toxicity on both sides of the relationship” between Corbyn’s office and Labour headquarters, which seriously hampered the party’s ability to fight elections.
It also lays bare how senior Labour staff displayed “deplorably factional and insensitive, and at times discriminatory, attitudes”.
The 138-page report follows an independent inquiry by Martin Forde QC, prompted by the leak in 2020 of a Labour document containing hundreds of derogatory WhatsApp messages. After long delays, the Forde report was passed to the party’s National Executive Committee on Tuesday.
Corbyn, who declined to be interviewed for the inquiry but signed a joint submission, was described in the report as “notably silent”.
Among its findings, the report concluded that:
- Both sides believed the other was trying to sabotage their work.
- Derogatory messages were not “cherrypicked and selectively edited” as claimed but were representative of insensitive and sometimes discriminatory attitudes.
- It was “highly unlikely” that a parallel campaign run by anti-Corbyn staff in 2017 cost the party the election.
- The leaked 2020 report itself was a factional document with an agenda to advance.
READ MORE
Antisemitism issue used as ‘factional weapon’ in Labour, report finds (Guardian)
'No way back for Corbyn’ as Labour finally publishes damning report into antisemitism (Jewish Chronicle)
