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Labour makes grovelling apology and must pay £500k to whistleblowers who sued party over anti-semitism row
THE LABOUR party has paid ‘substantial damages’ to seven whistleblowers who sued the party over an anti-semitism row.
This morning Labour apologised “unreservedly” and admitted defaming the individuals who contributed to a Panorama investigation into how the party handled the issue.
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Labour agreed it had made “defamatory” and “false allegations” against those involved in the Panorama programme Is Labour Antisemitic?.
In an explosive high court case the party agreed to pay out between £600,000 and £750,000, and issued a formal apology to BBC reporter John Ware who worked on the programme.
They also apologised to their ex-employees who bravely spoke out on the issue last year.
It said: “The Labour party is here today to publicly set the record straight, and to apologise to the claimants for the distress and embarrassment that it has caused them.”
The incidents took place while Jeremy Corbyn was leader of the party.
The party is currently being investigated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission over allegations of anti-Semitism.
After becoming leader in 2015, Mr Corbyn was dogged by claims the party harbours anti-Semitic activists and campaigners.
The ex-staffers included Louise Withers-Green, Sam Matthews, Dan Hogan, Ben Westerman, Martha Robinson, Kat Buckingham and Michael Creighton.
They worked in the Labour party’s governance and legal unit and were responsible for dealing with allegations of misconduct.
Ms Withers-Green has now revealed the former employees endured a torrent of abuse since the programme aired.
She said:“It feels like it is closing a chapter where the libel against us has been retracted, but this is only a first step for the party in beginning to tackle antisemitism.
“I had never expected the party to welcome the Panorama programme with open arms. But I had been expecting them to take responsibility in the long-term for what was happening and truly want to take action. I never expected we would be called bad faith actors.”
Speaking after the verdict, the Labour Party issued an "unreserved apology" to Mr Ware and vowed to crack down on anti-Semitism.
It said: "Under the leadership of Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner, we are committed to tackling antisemitism within the Labour Party. Antisemitism has been a stain on the Labour Party in recent years.
"It has caused unacceptable and unimaginable levels of grief and distress for many in the Jewish community, as well as members of staff.
"If we are to restore the trust of the Jewish community, we must demonstrate a change of leadership."
Despite the verdict, Mr Corbyn today dismissed the decision.
He said: "The Party’s decision to apologise today and make substantial payments to former staff who sued the party in relation to last year’s Panorama programme is a political decision, not a legal one.
"Our legal advice was that the party had a strong defence, and the evidence in the leaked Labour report that is now the subject of an NEC inquiry led by Martin Forde QC strengthened concerns about the role played by some of those who took part in the programme.
"The decision to settle these claims in this way is disappointing, and risks giving credibility to misleading and inaccurate allegations about action taken to tackle antisemitism in the Labour Party in recent years."
Read More on The Sun
Documentary maker Mr Ware, who made the Panorama, and the whistleblowers are now considering suing Mr Corbyn over his statement slamming the settlement.
Mr Ware told The Sun: “I am consulting my lawyers.”
The Sun Says
SIR Keir Starmer won’t get off that easily.
He might hope to have put Labour’s loathsome Corbyn years behind him — but there is a fatal drawback.
Yes, he has compensated the anti- Semitism whistleblowers. Yes, the party is unarguably “under new management”.
But until last December Starmer was fully behind Corbyn, campaigning unwaveringly for the anti-Semite-in-chief to become PM of a Cabinet of Marxist fools.
Starmer could have opposed them from the backbenches, as others did. But he was in the thick of them, hungry for power to secure a new Brexit referendum.
Even now he won’t really take the hard Left on. The upcoming anti-Semitism report is the perfect time to expel them.
Starmer simply lacks the bottle.
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