Why Jeremy Corbyn Was Suspended From Labour Party

Jeremy Corbyn has been suspended from the Labour Party, six months after he stepped down as leader.

The decision came in the wake of a damning Equality and Human Rights Commission report into the handling of complaints of anti-Semitism by Labour.

The report found that the Labour party had acted unlawfully under the Equality Act, due to unlawful harassment and other anti-Semitic conduct.

In a Facebook statement, Corbyn wrote that anti-Semitism is “absolutely abhorrent, wrong and responsible for some of humanity’s greatest crimes.”

He added that one anti-Semite “is too many,” but added that the “scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media.”

Those comments drew a swift and dramatic response from the party. "In light of (Corbyn's) comments made today and his failure to retract them subsequently, the Labour Party has suspended Jeremy Corbyn pending investigation. He has also had the whip removed from the Parliamentary Labour Party," a party spokesperson said.

Corbyn said he would "strongly contest" the decision to suspend him.

He said on Twitter: "I've made absolutely clear those who deny there has been an antisemitism problem in the Labour Party are wrong. I will continue to support a zero-tolerance policy towards all forms of racism."

Earlier on Thursday, Corbyn said in a statement that he worked to "speed up -- not hinder" the investigation.

Before Corbyn's suspension was publicly announced, his successor as leader, Keir Starmer, said he accepted the report "in full" and would implement all its recommendations. "It is a day of shame for the Labour Party. We have failed Jewish people... I am truly sorry for all the pain and grief that has been caused," Starmer said in a statement.

"Never again will we fail to tackle anti-Semitism and never again will we lose your trust," Starmer added.

Caroline Waters, interim chair of the EHRC, said in a statement Thursday: "Our investigation has highlighted multiple areas where its [Labour's] approach and leadership to tackling anti-Semitism was insufficient."

"This is inexcusable and appeared to be a result of a lack of willingness to tackle anti-Semitism rather than an inability to do so."

Most notably, in the 2019 general election, Corbyn ran for Prime Minister. However, Corbyn lost and Boris Johnson was re-elected. Corbyn quit the Labour leadership, to be succeeded in April by Starmer.