Members of the shadow cabinet have held an emotional debate on the antisemitism crisis engulfing Labour, with participants agreeing that the party must make radical changes to deal with the problem.

Meeting shortly after Jewish community leaders issued a set of demands they said Jeremy Corbyn would have to address if they were to meet him, almost every member spoke in the discussion. In a mood described as “shaken”, those who spoke were said to have expressed their dismay at the situation.

The meeting followed the resurfacing of a simmering row on Friday over Corbyn’s apparent support of a 2012 Facebook post for an antisemitic mural in the East End of London.

“Everybody was upset by the events of the past few days,” said one person who was present.

It was informally agreed that the recommendations from Shami Chakrabarti’s report (pdf) into antisemitism and other forms of racism in Labour must be implemented in full. That will require a significant overhaul of party machinery, including appointing a general counsel, and an in-house team of lawyers to ensure procedure is followed properly. It is understood Corbyn will make that a priority for the party’s new general secretary, Jennie Formby.

“It is now accepted that there are two things going on,” said one shadow minister. “The problem [of antisemitism] is real, and it is also being used deliberately by Corbyn’s opponents. But because it’s true it’s being used against Jeremy doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem. That’s what people had to grasp.”

Later, Wes Streeting, the co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on British Jews, and John Mann of the all-party parliamentary group against antisemitism, wrote to Corbyn calling for Monday night’s protest over the issue to be a turning point for the party. “Without action this issue will not go away,” the MPs said. “We ask you to lead our response in … robust terms.”

The Chakrabarti report made clear recommendations about the use of abusive language, tropes and stereotypes, and also set out a path towards a quick and clear process for handling allegations that would mean cases against individuals and local parties could generally be concluded within six months.

There are scores of outstanding cases that have been mired in the party’s compliance procedures for months.

Jewish community leaders have said they are ready to meet Corbyn but they issued a list of demands they wanted to be met before agreeing on a time and place.

After Monday’s rally against antisemitism outside parliament, attended by hundreds of campaigners and more than a dozen Labour MPs and peers, Jonathan Arkush, the president of the Board of Deputies, said he wanted to set out “what we think has to happen” in order to drain “the political sewer”.

Arkush said he had had had no contact with the Labour leader since they met more than two years ago.



Top of the list of demands is the expulsion of Ken Livingstone, the former London mayor who has been suspended after refusing to withdraw claims that Jews collaborated with Hitler. On Tuesday, Arkush said: “Ken Livingstone really cannot remain. His views are shameful and disreputable. He will have to go.”

Demands for the the expulsion of Jackie Walker, a former vice-chair of Momentum, were also expected. Walker has been suspended after being filmed saying there was no definition of antisemitism “that she could work with”.

Danny Stone, the director of the Antisemitism Policy Trust, called for an independent audit of Labour’s complaints procedure, which would identify shortcomings.

The Chakrabarti review, carried out and published in 2016, called for greater “transparency, uniformity and expertise” in dealing with formal complaints.

Arkush said: “If and when we have the meeting, we will want to set targets which are measurable and which give the meeting the maximum chance of success.”

Darren Jones, the Labour MP for Bristol North West, who attended Monday’s protest, said he had been shocked by the abuse on social media directed against the demonstrators.

“The thing I have been amazed about is the extent and the ferocity of comments by people who seem to think this is about a conspiracy or a plot against Jeremy Corbyn,. I’m just confused and amazed,” he said.

“As a Labour MP, the reason I went out to support this protest was because Jewish people are telling me that they’ve been subjected to racism. I take that on trust, and I want to make clear as a Labour MP that I support them.”

He urged Corbyn to make clear publicly that any of his supporters who claim that antisemitism is a smear do not speak for him.

Arkush said he would also like action to be taken against those who minimise reports of antisemitism, including the Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey, who suggested it was “mood music” to undermine the leadership; and the Labour MP Chris Williamson, who claimed the Labour right was “weaponising” antisemitism.

One suggestion being discussed by Labour MPs is for Corbyn’s team to establish specific accounts on social media platforms that would identify and call out supporters using antisemitic language.