Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has always been a controversial figure across the pond. A Sunday Times report from last year, for instance, revealed how Corbyn has turned a blind eye to hundreds of cases of anti-Semitism in his own party. But a new report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission has just gotten him suspended.
"Our analysis points to a culture within the [Labour] Party which, at best, did not do enough to prevent anti-Semitism and, at worst, could be seen to accept it," the EHRC concluded in its 18-month investigation.
Corbyn reacted about as poorly as you could expect. He denied the commission's detailed findings, insisted that he is not part of the problem, and added that the media is simply exaggerating the issue.
NEW: @jeremycorbyn in pool interview with me:
— Joe Pike (@joepike) October 29, 2020
-Not surprised at EHRC findings.
-They don’t acknowledge the work I did re processes.
-Numbers have been exaggerated.
-Don’t accept that we were harassing or discriminating against people.
-My office did intervene in cases.
More from (pre-suspension) Corbyn pool interview:
— Joe Pike (@joepike) October 29, 2020
-I did everything I could to make sure we had good processes in place
-Number of cases in the public perception have become overstated
-No I’m not part of the problem
-I don’t believe I did fail
-Will you resign? Of course not
"One anti-Semite is one too many, but the scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media," Corbyn claimed. "That combination hurt Jewish people and must never be repeated."
And that finally did it. Labour has suspended him.
“In light of his comments made today and his failure to retract them subsequently, the Labour Party has suspended Jeremy Corbyn pending investigation. He has also had the whip removed from the Parliamentary Labour Party," a Labour spokesman declared on Thursday.