This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Labour has dropped its disciplinary investigation into Ian Austin, who had faced possible censure for abusive conduct after expressing anger about the party’s handling of the antisemitism row over the summer.

The MP for Dudley North, a strident critic of Jeremy Corbyn, had been under investigation since July.

The investigation came days after the party investigated the MP for Barking, Margaret Hodge, who called Corbyn an “antisemite and a racist” for his handling of the fallout over the party’s code of conduct.

Austin, whose adoptive parents were Jewish refugees from Czechoslovakia who lost relatives in the Holocaust, had clashed with the Labour party chairman, Ian Lavery, in the House of Commons, in a heated exchange witnessed by other MPs.

Hodge’s investigation was dropped shortly afterwards, but Austin’s continued.

It is understood he had an informal meeting with Labour’s chief whip, Nick Brown, and general secretary, Jennie Formby, but no formal hearing took place. A Labour source said Austin had been reprimanded and given a warning.

Responding to the dropping of the investigation, Austin said: “I make no apologies for being upset about antisemitism – I think every Labour party member ought to be angry about racism and the failure to deal with it properly, but I did not scream abuse as was alleged, so I am pleased the Labour party has dropped its threat to hold an investigation.

“Frankly, they should never have threatened this in the first place. The way this whole issue has been handled is unacceptable and the time it has taken is appalling.”

Austin’s investigation came during a bitter row in the party over the inclusion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism in the Labour code of conduct.

The party had removed several of the working examples from the definition, which caused an outcry from Jewish communal institutions, including an example of antisemitism comparing the Israeli state to the Nazis and a suggestion that the creation of a state of Israel was a racist endeavour.

The party’s national executive committee has since committed to including all the examples, but inserted an additional clause promising it did not undermine freedom of expression on Israel or the rights of Palestinians.

A Labour spokesperson said: “The Labour party takes all allegations of abusive behaviour extremely seriously. These are fully investigated in line with party rules and procedures.”