Labour has been rocked by civil war ahead of a bombshell BBC Panorama documentary set to air on Wednesday
Labour was on the brink of civil war last night as Brexit and anti-Semitism threatened to split the party.
Jeremy Corbyn has been rocked by fierce and high-level infighting on both issues ahead of a nightmare week.
And the Labour leader is braced for a bombshell Panorama documentary into the party’s botched handling of the anti-Semitism crisis.
In a sign of panic, officials are taking legal action to stop former staff blowing the whistle before the BBC broadcast on Wednesday.
The tactics were condemned as ‘stupid’ by deputy leader Tom Watson, while backbencher Wes Streeting warned he would use parliamentary privilege to defeat any gagging orders.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell is heaping further pressure on Mr Corbyn by pushing him to back a second referendum and continued EU membership. In other developments:
- Mr McDonnell was forced to deny claims that he has also been trying to force Mr Corbyn to sack his two closest aides;
- John Cryer, who chairs the Parliamentary Labour Party, warned Mr Corbyn’s allies against mass attempts to deselect MPs;
- Trade union leaders prepared to meet today to decide whether the party should change its Brexit stance;
- Gordon Brown called on Mr Corbyn to eliminate anti-Semitism in the party and said the Jewish community deserved an unqualified apology.
Officials are taking action to stop whistle-blowing before the documentary airs. The tactics were branded ‘stupid’ by deputy leader Tom Watson (pictured)
Labour was last night accused of hypocrisy over its attempts to enforce gagging orders to prevent former employees speaking out on anti-Semitism.
Up to half a dozen are believed to have breached non-disclosure agreements they signed with the party so they can talk to Panorama.
Law firm Carter-Ruck – acting for Labour – has written to Sam Matthews, the party’s ex-head of disputes, warning he could face legal action for breaking his NDA by talking to the media.
A letter from the firm, leaked to The Sunday Times, warned that the party ‘cannot be expected to and will not tolerate its former employees wantonly disregarding their obligations by selectively leaking information to the media’.
Responding to the legal warning, Mr Watson said: ‘Using expensive media lawyers in attempt to silence staff members is as futile as it is stupid. It’s not the Labour way and I deplore it.’ Mr Streeting, the Labour MP for Ilford North, appealed for anyone silenced by the party to come forward so he could speak out on their behalf in the House of Commons.
Backbencher Wes Streeting warned he would use parliamentary privilege to defeat any gagging orders
He tweeted: ‘Labour opposes NDAs yet seems to impose them. I’m protected by parliamentary privilege. I’ll whistleblow in House of Commons for anyone who needs me to do so.
‘Sunlight is the best disinfectant. No more excuses or hiding places.’
McDonnell: I’m not trying to oust Corbyn’s top aides
John McDonnell yesterday denied claims that he has been attempting to force Jeremy Corbyn to sack his two closest aides.
The Shadow Chancellor rejected reports that he and Diane Abbott have been calling for the removal of Karie Murphy, his chief of staff, and head of communications Seumas Milne.
Head of communications Seumas Milne
The pair have been accused of holding Mr Corbyn captive in his office and blocking him from changing the Labour party’s Brexit stance.
But Mr McDonnell told the BBC: ‘I have the confidence in them, of course I do. I’ve not told anyone to be sacked or anything like that. Jeremy and I talk about policies on a daily basis. Yes, we’ll disagree on things, but we’ll then come to an agreement.’
He added: ‘He’ll build consensus, just as he always does and then we back each other up.’ Asked if he, like shadow home secretary Miss Abbott, believed Mr Corbyn had been ‘held captive by his office’, Mr McDonnell replied: ‘I don’t believe that’s what Diane Abbott has said… We’re going to come to a decision I think sooner rather than later with regards to our Brexit position.’
Chief of staff Karie Murphy
He added: ‘We’ve got a huge domestic agenda that we want to promote and I think we’ll surprise people in an election just as we did in 2017 and we’ll go into office as a united party.’
Mike Katz, chairman of the Jewish Labour Movement, said: ‘Given Labour has called for scrapping of NDAs and greater legal protection for whistleblowers, it’s both hypocritical and just plain wrong of it to set expensive lawyers on former staff who are acting in the public interest to shine a light on institutional anti-Jewish racism.’
But Mr McDonnell defended the party’s use of gagging orders and threats of legal action, telling the BBC: ‘What they’re trying to do is just remind them of their confidentiality agreements.’
Barry Gardiner, the party’s international trade spokesman, savaged the Panorama programme yesterday.
He told Sky News it was ‘not a balanced and objective investigation into anti-Semitism’ but ‘a very partial view from a few members of staff who have a political axe to grind’.
Entitled ‘Is Labour Anti-Semitic?’, the BBC programme will feature interviews with key insiders.
A spokesman for Panorama said: ‘The Labour Party is criticising a programme they have not seen. We are confident the programme will adhere to the BBC’s editorial guidelines.
‘In line with those, the Labour Party has been given the opportunity to respond to the allegations.’
Mr Cryer warned yesterday that Labour had failed to address anti-Semitism in its ranks and needed to act much more quickly on the issue. He said procedures had improved under the party’s current general secretary, Jennie Formby, but told the BBC that not all anti-Semites were being kicked out.
‘We’ve failed to address anti-Semitism,’ he said. ‘The bottom line is, are we kicking people out of the party who are anti-Semitic?
‘In some cases yes we are, but in some cases no. If you’re a racist, you shouldn’t be in the Labour Party.’
It was claimed yesterday that Mr McDonnell and shadow home secretary Diane Abbott have tried to force Mr Corbyn to sack his chief-of-staff Karie Murphy and head of communications Seumas Milne.
The pair are accused of holding Mr Corbyn ‘captive’ in his office and blocking him from changing the party’s position on Brexit.
But Mr McDonnell denied the reports, telling the BBC: ‘I’ve not told anyone to be sacked or anything like that.’
Yesterday he warned that the party’s attempt to find a compromise position on Brexit that appeals to both former Leave and Remain voters ‘has not worked’.
He said: ‘We need to express a view now. I will vote Remain, I want to campaign for Remain.’
Mr McDonnell added: ‘I’ve said to Jeremy, if Boris Johnson does call a general election in September we won’t even have a conference to decide these matters.
‘That’s why we need to decide early and get on with it and that’s why he is talking to people now to bring them together.’