Labour's leadership office unlawfully interfered with the handling of complaints into anti-Semitism within the party.
A damning report published by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found illegal practices by the Leader of The Opposition's office (LOTO), interfering with complaints.
It also found that the party could have handled complaints better if the leader had wanted to do so.
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The party now has until December 10 to draft its action plan based on the report, with any measures being agreed with the EHRC before they are implemented.
The report's main findings
Illegal Interference
"Political interference in the handling of antisemitism complaints throughout the period of the investigation. We have concluded that this practice of political interference was unlawful. Staff from the Leader of the Opposition’s Office (LOTO) were able to influence decisions on complaints, especially decisions on whether to suspend someone. Sometimes these decisions were made because of likely press interest rather than any clear formal criteria."
Complaints ignored
"A significant number of complaints relating to antisemitism were not investigated at all; this is especially true for complaints about social media activity where the Labour Party previously adopted a policy of not investigating mere ‘likes’ or reposts. Where matters were investigated, the guidance on appropriate sanctions was unclear and inconsistent."
Sanctions
"Although some improvements have been made to the process for dealing with antisemitism complaints, it is hard not to conclude that antisemitism within the Labour Party could have been tackled more effectively if the leadership had chosen to do so."
Training
"There was a failure to deliver adequate training to individuals responsible for handling antisemitism complaints."
Recommendations
The EHRC has recommended that the party 'live up to' its commitment of a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Semitism. It states Labour needs to encourage reporting of complaints, and "engage with Jewish stakeholders".
The party must "rebuild trust and confidence that antisemitism complaints are handled independently, lawfully, efficiently and effectively", the EHRC recommends.
Training needs to be given properly to those handling complaints, or anyone involved in any stage of the complaints process, with a recommendation that the training should be rolled out within six months. It should be developed with the Jewish community.
Members who have engaged in anti-Semitism, who have not been expelled, should be given education and training on "identifying and tackling" the issue.
All party officials, staff and senior decision-makers should also be provided anti-Semitism training and education on the issue.
Pogress of the training and complaints handling process should be monitored, audited and feedback sought regularly.
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