The Labour party is to bring in independent specialists to deal with sexual harassment complaints, after criticism of its procedures.

The party’s national executive committee (NEC) announced on Tuesday that the party had adopted a new sexual harassment policy, after a motion to change its practices was passed by its conference in 2018.

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, there have been a number of complaints about sexual harassment within the Labour party. In February 2018, the LabourToo project published a report containing 43 anonymised stories of harassment within Labour.

Last week, Ava Etemadzadeh, who claims she was harassed by the now-suspended Labour MP Kelvin Hopkins, wrote an open letter to the party’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, saying Labour’s handling of harassment cases “shared many of the same flaws” as its approach to dealing with antisemitism. Hopkins denies Etemadzadeh’s allegations.

“When it comes to allegations of antisemitism or of sexual misconduct, there is no semblance of an independent procedure free from factional politics,” she wrote. “Allegations against members close to the party leadership appear to be treated differently from allegations against the leadership’s critics.”

John Woodcock was also suspended by the party last April after allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a female aide, which he denies. He subsequently quit the party after they refused to appoint an independent investigator, saying the complaints procedure was rigged against him.

Under the new procedures, an independent investigator will be appointed to look into every formal complaint, gather evidence from the complainant and give advice on how the investigation should proceed. An independent specialist advice service has also been launched to provide support to complainants throughout the process.

The party said the new procedure had been developed through extensive consultation with campaigners, the Labour Women’s Network and female Labour MPs.

A Labour spokesperson said the party was aiming to lead the political field in the way allegations of sexual harassment were dealt with. “We are committed to continually reviewing these procedures and working to ensure they are as fair and robust as possible,” they said.

In a statement, the LabourToo project said it was delighted by the changes, but that there were still flaws in the complaints procedure. “We know that victims’ main lack of faith in the process as it stands is because political members in the NEC and NCC [national constitutional committee] have the real power – to dismiss cases and determine penalties,” they said.

“Until this is remedied by appointing wholly independent members to hear cases and set penalties, victims are unlikely to feel the process will be fair and just. We will carry on making the case for a fully independent sexual harassment complaints system, free of any faction or political interest.”