Labour suspends Jeremy Corbyn over reaction to anti-Semitism report

Mr Corbyn also said he would not quit Labour, adding that he is “proud to be a member of the Labour Party”, which he joined when he was 16, and said: “I’ve fought racism all my life, and I’ll fight racism for the rest of my life.”

He has vowed to “strongly contest the political intervention to suspend me”.Mr Corbyn said in his earlier statement: “I’ve made absolutely clear those who deny there has been an antisemitism problem in the Labour Party are wrong.

“It’s also undeniable that a false impression has been created of the number of members accused of antisemitism, as polling shows: that is what has been overstated, not the seriousness of the problem.

“I will continue to support a zero tolerance policy towards all forms of racism. And I urge all members to stay calm and focused – while this problem is resolved amicably, as I believe it will be – to defeat this awful government, which is further impoverishing the poorest in society.”

An emergency shadow cabinet meeting was called for 4pm, headed by current leader Sir Keir Starmer.

Ahead of that, Sir Keir said he is “very disappointed” in Mr Corbyn’s statement and “appropriate action has been taken which I fully support”.

He added: “I made it very clear that we won’t tolerate antisemitism or the denial of antisemitism.

“I want to unite the Labour Party, bring our factions together as a united party but I made a very clear commitment to root out antisemitism and I’m going to follow through on that commitment.

“We cannot say zero tolerance and then turn a blind eye.” The investigation into antisemitism by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found Labour had broken the law in how it dealt with complaints of antisemitism in the period when Mr Corbyn was leader.

It said there were “serious failings” by its leadership, political interference by Mr Corbyn’s office into complaints, and found the party responsible for “unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination”.

Sir Keir said in his initial reaction to the report: “If – after all the pain, all the grief, and all the evidence in this report – there are still those who think there’s no problem with antisemitism in the Labour Party – that it’s all exaggerated, or a factional attack – then, frankly, you are part of the problem too.

“And you should be nowhere near the Labour Party, either.”

When asked by Sky’s Kate McCann if that meant Mr Corbyn should no longer be a member of the party, Sir Keir repeated his words and said he would look at what his predecessor had said.

An hour later, the party said it had suspended Mr Corbyn.

He has also had the whip removed, which means he is no longer part of Labour within parliament, so he can remain an MP but is now an independent.

SKY NEWS