Pro-Corbyn journal claims Starmer agreed quick deal for former leader’s return

The leader’s office has yet to comment on the claims by Mr Eagleton, editor of the New Left Review and author of a new book on Sir Keir.  But the article was met with derision on social media.

Actor Marlon Solomon branded it the “comedy revisionism” stage of Novara Media’s antisemitism coverage. 

He posted: “So [Starmer] withholds sending him his speech just so Corbyn could walk into the trap of … just being Corbyn, then he could suspend him.”

Filmmaker Oz Katerji branded the article a “ridiculous narrative”, saying it was “actually hilarious” that they had settled on this story “to defend their cult leader’s behaviour regarding antisemitism”.

Sir Keir ordered Mr Corbyn’s suspension in the wake of the October 29 publication of the Equality and Human Rights Commission report into antisemitism within Labour, which found the party had broken equality law.

In a statement after the findings, Mr Corbyn claimed the scale of antisemitism within Labour had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media”.

At a press conference shortly afterwards, Sir Keir insisted those who claimed the crisis had been exaggerated should be “nowhere near the Labour Party”.  Mr Corbyn was suspended the same day.            

The article alleges that former Corbyn aides insist they would have cut the controversial line had they seen Sir Keir’s statement in advance.   It claims this was promised by Sir Keir in a call to Mr Corbyn on the eve of the EHRC report. 

It says Mr Corbyn refused to apologise or retract his statement following his suspension but did agree to Labour MP Jon Trickett and Unite general secretary Len McCluskey acting on his behalf in talks with the leader’s office. 

It goes on to allege that after a call from the Unite boss, Sir Keir “agreed to reinstate the former leader if the two teams could agree on a new statement for him to sign. 

“Trickett told Starmer this would have to be a ‘clarification’ rather than an apology and Starmer assented to this prerequisite.”

According to the article, the four men hammered out an agreed wording, without an apology. A plan was agreed for Mr Corbyn to be reinstated after receiving a warning ‘reminder of conduct’ notice from the ruling NEC the following week.

But Sir Keir had “not anticipated the level of instant pushback from the right”. 

The article then alleges that briefings began to the media that Mr Corbyn would only be reinstated if he issued an unreserved apology.  The suspension remains in place.