Labour anti-Semitism: Ex-staff raise fresh questions over report leak

Five former Labor workers accused of publishing a report on anti-Semitism within the party say at least 12 other people, including ex-leader Jeremy Corbyn, had access to copies of it.

The 2020 report condemned Labour, but said Mr Corbyn had been blocked from reform by opponents.

The current leadership says the five former employees, all Corbyn supporters, revealed it to “secure his legacy”.

But everyone denies this.

It comes as the five have been embroiled in legal action over the leak, which has already cost Labor £1million to investigate, according to High Court documents seen by the BBC.

A Labor spokesman said: “The party has carried out a wide-ranging and reasonably thorough inquiry into the leak and is confident that it has brought the case to court.”

Anti-Semitism allegations within the Labor Party were rife during Mr Corbyn’s tenure as leader, which lasted from 2015 to 2020.

When he resigned in April 2020, a party report was leaked that claimed internal hostility towards Mr Corbyn from senior party officials had led to a “litany of errors” that had hampered the handling of allegations of anti-Semitism.

The report had included private WhatsApp messages sent between Labor staffers criticizing Mr Corbyn and containing derogatory remarks about his supporters.

Some of those named in the report are currently taking collective action against the party claiming a data breach.

As part of their defence, the current Labor leadership under Sir Keir Starmer has claimed that five former staffers – all of whom were strong supporters of Mr Corbyn – leaked the report.

The accused are:

However, in High Court documents presented to the BBC, the five allege that Mr Corbyn and at least a dozen other Labor staffers had copies of the report – including via a shared drive – and similar means of publishing it.

In its own legal claims, Labor says Ms Murphy set up a WhatsApp group before the leak to coordinate work on the report and Mr Hayball used it to circulate drafts.

Ms Robertson later Gmailed a copy of the report to Ms Murphy’s personal email account “without a legitimate reason,” she adds.

When Labor began investigating, all copies of the WhatsApp group were deleted and Ms Murray and Ms Robertson erased their internet search histories.

But in their legal defence, the five say Mr Corbyn and then Labor Secretary-General Jennie Formby also received the report via WhatsApp.

Mr Milne also sent copies of the report to two of Mr Corbyn’s personal email addresses at his own request, the document said.

The five former employees claim officers regularly instructed aides to delete their WhatsApp chats and that personal emails are often used as Labour’s system is “prone to unauthorized leaks”.

Ms Robertson and Ms Murray said they cleared their browsing histories to protect their privacy and prevent the party from accessing personal information such as online banking and social media accounts.

Despite such extensive evidence, including what appeared to be unauthorized access to their personal email accounts, the party found no direct evidence of illegal activity, their defense adds.

Labor has told the BBC it denies having had unauthorized access to personal emails.

Months before the report was published, Labor says, Ms Robertson, with the support of Mr Milne, prepared a communications plan and briefing materials that suggested it be released to the media.

The party claims this was motivated by factional hostility with “intent to upset or embarrass Sir Keir” who replaced Mr Corbyn as Labor leader in April 2020.

But Ms Robertson says media briefings were a routine part of her role and this “rough” communications plan was shared with her boss and other senior officials.

The five deny allegations of partisanship, emphasizing that Sir Keir had served in Mr Corbyn’s shadow cabinet and campaigned twice for his election.

Furthermore, Sir Keir was not criticized in the leaked report as he played no role in handling anti-Semitism complaints, they add.

Labor has spent £1million dealing with the aftermath of the leak and is facing significant financial strains, according to High Court documents.

The party is demanding compensation from the five former employees to cover their growing legal costs and wants them to be held liable to those affected by the alleged data breach.

Labor previously launched independent inquiries into the leak but one proved inconclusive.

The second inquiry, led by Martin Forde QC, has been postponed indefinitely over concerns it may pre-empt an investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

All five former employees said they took part in both investigations and were found responsible for neither.

Labor said the party had carried out a wide-ranging and reasonably thorough investigation into the leak and was confident the case had been brought to court.

Mr Corbyn was contacted for comment.

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