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Corbyn readmitted to Labour following suspension

Decision by NEC panel attacked as a ‘slap in the face to the Jewish community’

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GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 22: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn meets with asylum seeker brothers Somer Umeed and Areeb Umeed at Possilpark Parish Church on August 22, 2018 in Glasgow, Scotland. Jeremy Corbyn met with asylum seeker families in Glasgow threatened with eviction by Serco and called for such services to be delivered by public bodies. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Jeremy Corbyn has been reinstated to the Labour Party after a suspension that had  lasted 19 days.

A panel from the party’s governing body, the NEC,  agreed to lift the former leader’s suspension after they met on Tuesday afternoon.

Mr Corbyn reportedly received a “reminder of values” from the panel.

The decision to readmit the leader immediately sparked fury amongst communal organisations.

The Jewish Labour Movement accused Labour of allowing the case to be heard by a “factionally aligned political committee.”

A spokesperson added it was “extraordinary that just weeks after the EHRC found that the Labour Party had discriminated against Jewish members through political manipulation of the disciplinary process, it appears that the party expedited this case for hearing by a factionally aligned political committee.”

Another Labour MP told the JC this was a “slap in the face to the Jewish community”.

Mr Corbyn had issued a statement ahead of the NEC disputes panel meeting saying he regretted any hurt caused by a statement he made  after the release of a report by the equalities watchdog into antisemitism, which led to his suspension.

He was suspended after rejecting the  overall conclusions of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report into antisemitism in the party after suggesting the problem was “dramatically overstated for political reasons” by “opponents and the media”.

Board of Deputies of British Jews President Marie van der Zyl, Jewish Leadership Chair Jonathan Goldstein and Community Security Trust Chief Executive Mark Gardner said:  “Today’s decision is a retrograde step for the party in its relations with the Jewish community. Jeremy Corbyn’s dismissive approach to the damning EHRC’s findings rightly saw him suspended. For Jeremy Corbyn’s allies on the NEC to expedite his case whilst hundreds of other cases languished under his tenure, and his confected non-apology earlier today adds insult to injury.

“This politicisation of the process goes against what the EHRC recommended just last month. Labour’s mountain to climb to win back the trust of our community just got higher.”

Karen Pollock, CEO of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said: "What message does this send? 'Zero tolerance' either means zero tolerance or it's meaningless. The scathing report from the EHRC less than three weeks ago outlined a stream of racism and discrimination by the Labour Party on Jeremy Corbyn’s watch. Yet here we are.

"Once again Corbyn has failed to take responsibility and the Labour Party have let him off the hook."

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