In her report into allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party, Ms Chakrabarti calls out the ‘sheer inadequacy’ of in-house legal resources within a party that does not presently have even one in-house lawyer. Released on Thursday, the inquiry calls on Labour to appoint a general counsel as a matter of urgency to support the party’s general secretary. Testimony to the inquiry revealed insufficient legal resources in ‘an organisation understandably primarily equipped for political campaigning rather than due process.' Additionally, Ms Chakrabarti has recommended that Labour form an expert legal panel for a fixed five-year term to assess the party’s disciplinary policies and report to the Labour National Constitutional Committee: ‘This panel would be made up of volunteer lawyers of standing (barristers or solicitors of at least 15 years’ post-qualification experience) and appointed so as to achieve maximum confidence across the party,’ she suggests.

Zero tolerance

The former director of human rights organisation Liberty was appointed in May to independently review allegations of antisemitism within the Labour Party, following the suspensions of MP Naz Shah and ex-London mayor Ken Livingstone. Her report into the matter describes an ‘occasionally toxic atmosphere’ within the party but closes down suggestions of rampant, widespread racism. It also suggests that Labour extend its new ‘zero tolerance’ policy for racism to other forms of bigotry and discrimination, including homophobia and sexism.

Sources: Legal Business; The Lawyer; BBC; PinkNews