Shami Chakrabarti: 'My heart sank' as MP was challenged

Ms Chakrabarti, sipping coffee from a mug emblazoned with the words 'liberty' and 'equality', said: "In that moment I felt like the past two months of long days and nights were falling apart."

It is not good enough to argue that you didn't mean to be antisemitic. Stop being hateful.

The former director of human rights group Liberty recoiled as she described how, after reporting that Labour was not over-run by antisemitism or other forms of racism, she tracked down Ms Smeeth and apologised for what had happened.

"I was just frustrated. All I could think was that I'd spent two months trying to build trust and move forward and all it takes is one person to ruin it."

She added that she took full responsibility for the incident and rejected claims that Jeremy Corbyn - who was standing beside her at the time - should have done more to defend his colleague.

"It was my press conference, I was chairing it," Ms Chakrabarti said. "I think there is a danger in implying the little woman can't sort it out. I know what it looked like - that he was not sticking up for us.

"Maybe I should have done more. But I thought I was quite firm with [Mr Wadsworth], telling him he had abused the privilege of asking a question."

Ms Chakrabarti made 20 recommendations aimed at helping Labour "lead by example" on tackling antisemitism. She said slurs including "Zio" had no place in the party's discourse and said the phrase was regularly cited by witnesses who provided her with evidence.

Labour members "should resist the use of Hitler, Nazi and Holocaust metaphors, distortions and comparisons in debates about Israel-Palestine in particular", she found, and also warned against minimising the Holocaust or attempting to blur responsibility for it.

Ms Chakrabarti said the party should not impose life bans on members and suggested Labour's National Executive Committee adopt a wider range of punishments.

Explaining why the inquiry had included forms of racism other than antisemitism, Ms Chakrabarti said: "We needed to hear the examples of the tropes and situations, but we needed to respond in a universal way. There were things learnt about other minority groups."

Labour's National Executive Committee now needs to back the procedural changes outlined, Ms Chakrabarti said, adding that she hoped her guidance on language would "become party wisdom straight away and that people responsible with dealing with complaints will bear it in mind".

Ms Chakrabarti also recommended the party should not impose life bans on members because, she said, people could change their views and behaviour.

She described being almost moved to tears by "heart-breaking conversations" she had with witnesses.

As the daughter of immigrants from Kolkata, the 47-year-old lawyer was shocked to discover the regularity with which people were subjected to the "Zio" slur, and likened its use to her experience of the word "Paki".

Sitting at the head of a long oak dining table in her kitchen, Ms Chakrabarti said: "I thought I was switched on before I did this report. I grew up in north-west London, I lived in Golders Green, I went to LSE - antisemitism wasn't new to me. But I hadn't heard about the use of 'Zio' until I did this.

"I heard too much of that for it not to be true, and the same with stereotyping and the need to defend yourself. That constantly came through. While people may have had different views on Jeremy or on Israel and Palestine, I listened out for their experiences of prejudice.

"I was criticised for not defining antisemitism but I wanted to set the bar higher. I wanted to be clear that if you are making your friends and fellow party members feel uncomfortable, then stop it.

"It is not good enough to argue you did not mean to be antisemitic. Stop being hateful, stop being shouty, and stop being rude."

Pointing to a large cardboard box full of the submissions made to the inquiry, she said it had been the evidence of Jewish students which was the "most upsetting".

"It is just not fair. You are away from home for the first time, you are feeling awkward and vulnerable. The last thing you want to feel challenged about is your political credentials because you have a Jewish-sounding surname.

"When those children spoke to me about how it upset their parents and grandparents, it reminded me of the 1970s and 1980s in London when the National Front was prevalent."

The day before speaking to the JC, Ms Chakrabarti was criticised while Mr Corbyn gave evidence to the Commons' Home Affairs Select Committee's own inquiry into rising antisemitism. She was said to have been guiding him.

But it was impossible not to feel personally attached to the subject, she argued.

"People were asking him questions about my report and I have invested two months of my life into it. I will have to let go at some point."

Ms Chakrabarti defended her decision to become a Labour member on the same day she was appointed to chair the inquiry.

"I wanted to be honest about joining the party and if I was going to say some tough things about it, I thought the best place to be able to do that was from within in it."

Asked if she would seek to be a Labour candidate in the future, her tone changed. She was unwilling to either confirm or deny the possibility.

"When I left Liberty I was going to have this quiet gap year. I don't go looking for trouble - trouble finds me. So I don't know. I want to write another book, I want to do some teaching, so we will see."

This article has been amended to update the text and headline