“In complete contrast,” he added, “the Chakrabati report was a crude political device and accurately described as a whitewash — with recommendations that do nothing to make a material difference to tackling antisemitism or the disciplinary process in the party.
“One also cannot ignore that its credibility has been fatally undermined by the widespread perception of some sort of transaction around it.”
Baroness Chakrabarti’s report was published in late June and found that Labour was “not overrun by antisemitism, Islamophobia, or other forms of racism,” despite an “occasionally toxic atmosphere”.
In early August it was announced that Mr Corbyn, who had previously spoken out against the peerage system, had nominated her to join the House of Lords. A month later, in early September, she became Baroness Chakrabarti of Kennington, subsequently joining Mr Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Attorney General.
“Tackling the real problem of antisemitism in the Labour Party requires proper action and leadership, not denial and misdirection,” said Lord Mendelsohn. “What is particularly unhelpful is an acolyte who doesn’t know when to stop digging.”
