Labour has failed to address anti-Semitism in its ranks and needs to act much more quickly on the issue, the party’s parliamentary chief has claimed as he said attempts to deselect his pregnant MP wife are ‘beneath contempt’.
John Cryer, the chairman of the parliamentary Labour party, said he believed things had improved under general secretary Jennie Formby but not all anti-Semites were being kicked out.
Mr Cryer also said there was ‘a lot of worry’ among Labour MPs about possible deselection bids in their constituencies as he took aim at activists who had targeted his wife, Ellie Reeves, the MP for Lewisham and Penge.
Ms Reeves had faced a call for a motion of no confidence despite the fact she is five months pregnant and was only elected as a Labour MP for the first time in 2017.
The push to oust Ms Reeves was eventually dropped but Mr Cryer said: ‘To do it with a woman who’s five months pregnant, who’s a relatively new MP and has clearly worked really hard – I think it’s beneath contempt.’
John Cryer, the chairman of the parliamentary Labour party, attacked hard Left activists for trying to deselect moderate Labour MPs
John McDonnell (pictured on The Andrew Marr Show yesterday) has urged Jeremy Corbyn to ‘get on with’ making a final decision on the party’s Brexit stance
Mr Cryer’s intervention came as Labour was in complete meltdown over anti-Semitism and Brexit.
Jeremy Corbyn has been rocked by fierce and high-level infighting on both issues ahead of a nightmare week.
The Labour leader is braced for a bombshell Panorama documentary into the party’s botched handling of the anti-Semitism crisis, due to be broadcast on Wednesday.
And in a sign of panic, officials are taking legal action to stop former staff blowing the whistle.
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.
Meanwhile, shadow chancellor John McDonnell is heaping further pressure on Mr Corbyn by pushing him to back a second referendum in all circumstances and for Labour to campaign for Remain.
Labour is under investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission over its handling of anti-Semitism allegations, something which Mr Cryer described as ‘pretty embarrassing’.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour: ‘We’ve failed to address anti-Semitism.
‘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.’
He said that in quite a lot of cases ‘you get a suspension but then the case just drags on and on, and it’s those cases where we need to act much more quickly’.
Mr Cryer also urged the party’s leadership to be more accepting of different opinions within Labour.
‘I make my views pretty clear that there’s got to be tolerance at the top of the party,’ he said.
‘I think he (Mr Corbyn) personally is (tolerant), but perhaps there are people around who take a less tolerant point of view.
Mr Corbyn is facing a complete meltdown in the Labour Party over Brexit and anti-Semitism
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.’
‘But across the party, whether you’re elected or not elected, you’ve got to have a tolerance for people with different views.’
He added: ‘If it is the case that people are going to be driven out on the basis of differences of opinion then it’s not going to be the Labour Party that I’ve always known.’
Mr Cryer also said he believed Labour would end up supporting a second referendum.
‘I’d rather see us go for a second referendum rather than just heading out of the exit on the basis of no deal,’ he said.
‘I think we’re moving onto a territory where we’re going to end up supporting a second referendum as a point of policy and principle.’
Yesterday Mr McDonnell was forced to deny claims that he has been trying to force Mr Corbyn to sack his two closest aides over their alleged influence over the party’s Brexit policy.
It was claimed that he and Diane Abbott had told Mr Corbyn in private that he had to sack chief of staff Karie Murphy and head of communications Seumas Milne and back a second referendum or his leadership would be finished.
Mr McDonnell denied the reports, telling the BBC: ‘I’ve not told anyone to be sacked or anything like that.’
Meanwhile, 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.’
Officials are taking action to stop whistle-blowing before the documentary airs. The tactics were branded ‘stupid’ by deputy leader Tom Watson (pictured)
Backbencher Wes Streeting warned he would use parliamentary privilege to defeat any gagging orders
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.
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.’
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.’
Labour is believed to have written to the BBC to accuse the broadcaster of political interference over the Panorama documentary.
A spokesman for the programme said: ‘The Labour Party is criticising a programme they have not seen.’