Labour’s deputy leader says failure to expel Ken Livingstone ‘incomprehensible’ as Chief Rabbi accuses party of ‘failing the Jewish community’
Ephraim Mirvis launched a scathing assault on the leadership for not being serious about tackling the problem once again
LABOUR has been plunged into another crisis after its deputy leader says the failure to expel Ken Livingstone "shames us all".
Tom Watson called the decision not to kick out the former London mayor for his widely-condemned remarks regarding Adolf Hitler and Zionism as "incomprehensible".
Mr Watson said he was “ashamed” Labour have allowed Mr Livingstone to cause such distress, and his “unrepentant media appearances” have “continued to discredit the party I love”.
It comes as Lord Levy, the party’s chief fundraiser under Tony Blair, is threatening to leave the party
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he said: “I am very upset with the party’s attitude. I do not believe there has been a zero-tolerance policy towards anti-Semitism.”
The decision by a disciplinary panel to only suspend Mr Livingstone for a further year has sparked outrage from a number of Labour MPs, and seen supporters cut up their membership cards.
Actress and former EastEnders star Tracy Ann Oberman said she felt "so let down" and was quitting Labour.
Pressure is now on Jeremy Corbyn to take action, after his second-in command has spoken out so forcefully against his long-time friend.
Some members of his Shadow Cabinet have also hit out, with Shadow International Trade Secretary Barry Gardiner calling for 'Red Ken' to be expelled for the “enormous offence” he has caused.
His scathing assault came as the Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis accused the party of failing the Jewish community.
Speaking after the panel's verdict he said: "This was a chance for the Labour Party to show that it would not tolerate wilful and unapologetic baiting of the Jewish community, by shamefully using the Holocaust as a tool with which to inflict the maximum amount of offence.
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"Worryingly, the party has yet again failed to show that it is sufficiently serious about tackling the scourge of anti-Semitism.
"The Labour Party has failed the Jewish community, it has failed its members and it has failed all those who believe in zero tolerance of anti-Semitism."
The intervention came as Mr Livingstone vowed to campaign against the suspension, insisting he had told the historical truth, and would now consult lawyers on his legal position.
'This shames us all'
Labour deputy leader Tom Watson's full statement:
I find it incomprehensible that our elected lay members on the disciplinary panel found Ken Livingstone guilty of such serious charges, and then concluded that he can remain a member of the Labour party.
When I read the words of chief rabbi Mirvis, who says that ‘the Labour party has failed the Jewish community, it has failed its members and it has failed all those who believe in zero tolerance of anti-Semitism’,
I can’t disagree with him. I wish I could, but I can’t. I am ashamed that we have allowed Mr Livingstone to cause such distress.
It isn’t just Jewish people who feel disgusted and offended by what Mr Livingstone said and by the way he has conducted himself over this matter, and it isn’t just Jewish Labour members who feel ashamed of any indulgence of his views anywhere in the Labour party.
This shames us all, and I’m deeply saddened by it.
Mr Livingstone’s unrepentant media appearances in recent days have continued to discredit the party I love. His current behaviour is still bringing the Labour party into disrepute.
It is hard not to conclude that his use of inflammatory language to dismiss the fully justified outrage of the Jewish community and others will incite further distortions of the Holocaust in our public discourse.
My party is not living up to its commitment to have a zero tolerance approach to anti-Semitism. I will continue the fight to ensure that it does, and I will press my colleagues to do so too.
But numerous Labour MPs have slammed the decision, with John Woodcock branding it "pathetic", and Wes Streeting calling it a “terrible betrayal of Jewish Labour supporters and our values".
Former Cabinet Minister David Miliband said he never would have "believed the day" when anti-Semitism and Labour "were being discussed in the same sentence."
Speaking before Mr Livingstone was suspended, he told BBC Radio 5 Live he “grieves” for the state of the Labour party, calling it “an unspeakable state of affairs”.
Jeremy Newmark, chairman of the Jewish Labour Movement, called the suspension "quite insufficient", and Joe Glasman from the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, said: "Ken Livingstone has been portraying Jews as Nazis for decades.
“His claim that Hitler acted in support of Zionism, along with his constant repetition of that distortion, has been a repulsive spectacle.”
Karen Pollock, CEO of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said: “Ken Livingstone has continued to cause significant pain and great offence to the Jewish community with his persistent rewriting of history.”
She added that the verdict was “a slap on the wrist for a serial offender”, while current Cabinet minister Sajid Javid said it was “astonishing and wrong that Ken Livingstone has not been expelled”.
The current Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “The Labour Party disciplinary panel's decision to suspend Ken Livingstone but let him remain a member does not reflect the severity of the verdict – this is deeply disappointing.
“As the Labour Party it is our duty to lead by example and demonstrate that we take a zero-tolerance approach towards anti-Semitism wherever we find it.
“Sadly this gives the impression we are not fulfilling that duty.”
Mr Livingstone, who compared the disciplinary hearing to a North Korean court, was in defiant mood afterwards, declaring: "You can't apologise for telling the truth.”
The 71-year-old was suspended in April last year after claiming that Hitler supported Zionism in the 1930s before he ''went mad and ended up killing six million Jews''.
He insisted he had never said Hitler was a Zionist, only that the Nazi leader had supported the movement’s principles at one time.
A Labour spokesman said the party's National Constitutional Committee had found the charges against Mr Livingstone to be proved and he would be suspended for two years.
But due to him being suspended for the past 11 months, this would see him become a full member again at the end of April next year.
This morning he responded to the attacks by mocking ‘Blairite MPs’ and said the punishment meted out to him was “not a problem”.
Speaking to he said: "If I’d said Hitler was a Zionist, I wouldn’t have just apologised, I’d have asked my doctor to check for the first signs of dementia.
“The trouble is, MPs like Wes Streeting and 39 Labour MPs were saying I was anti-Semitic.
"The Jewish Chronicle website had a story which claimed I'd said Jews were like Nazis.
"None of this is true, and I know we live in a world of fake news, but unless you’re rich, you can’t afford to sue the sods."