Corbyn’s suspension breached deal to reinstate him, High Court hears
Former Labour leader's lawyer says party broke a 'settled agreement' to restore the whip, following his suspension for saying antisemitism had been 'dramatically overstated'
Jeremy Corbyn’s suspension from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) “went behind an agreement to reinstate” him to Labour “at all levels”, the High Court has heard.
The former leader of the opposition is considering legal action against Labour for “an injunction to restore the whip immediately”, his lawyers said at a remote hearing on Monday.
The Islington North MP was suspended from Labour in October for claiming that the scale of antisemitism in the party was “dramatically overstated for political reasons”.
He later attempted to clarify his comments in a statement, which he says was agreed with the party, saying concerns about antisemitism were “neither ‘exaggerated’ nor ‘overstated’”.
Mr Corbyn was reinstated as a party member by the National Executive Committee (NEC) following a meeting of a disciplinary panel three weeks after his suspension.
But his successor as party leader Sir Keir Starmer blocked him from sitting as a Labour MP, saying Mr Corbyn had “undermined” work to restore trust and confidence in the party’s ability to tackle antisemitism.
Mr Corbyn’s legal team is now applying for “pre-action disclosure” from the Labour Party ahead of an “anticipated claim” over his suspension.
On Monday, Mr Corbyn’s barrister Christopher Jacobs told Judge Lisa Sullivan: “We need to know the involvement of the Labour Party leader (Sir Keir) in accepting the NEC decision.
“We need to know the conduct of the Labour Party leader in accepting the agreement (that there would be) no requirement for further sanction and the matter would be closed.
“And we need to know the extent to which the decision to impose a second suspension … was influenced by third-party interventions.”
He said the decision to prevent his client returning to the PLP seemed to be the result of “political interference” and said Mr Corbyn’s treatment by Labour was “grossly unfair”.
Mr Jacobs argued that “the party and the party leadership in particular” went behind “the legitimate and final decision of the NEC” to reinstate Mr Corbyn, arguing that its “complete about-turn is perverse”.
He also argued that the suspension of Mr Corbyn – who appeared to attend the remote hearing on Monday – from the PLP was “a fundamental breach of contract” in relation to his client’s membership of the party.
Mr Jacobs said Labour had breached a “settled agreement” to restore the party whip to Mr Corbyn.
He told the court that, at two separate meetings in late October and early November, “it was agreed that there would be no further sanction imposed in respect of my client”.
In written submissions, Mr Jacobs said Mr Corbyn was seeking minutes or notes of those two meetings, as well as documents related to chief whip Nick Brown’s “consultation” with Sir Keir about the decision to suspend Mr Corbyn.
Rachel Crasnow QC, for Labour, said the party had already provided “adequate disclosure”, adding: “There was no agreement in any event.”
She said Mr Corbyn’s proposed claim against Labour was “a straightforward contract claim based on two agreements: firstly, his membership of the party … and, secondly, upon a supposed agreement reached between his representatives and party representatives”.
Ms Crasnow argued in written submissions that Mr Corbyn’s “purpose of obtaining early disclosure from the party is to advance a political, rather than a legal, position”.
She added that disclosure was also unlikely to resolve the dispute without the need to bring legal proceedings because “this case has an important political significance to Mr Corbyn that will not be satiated by obtaining early disclosure”.
At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Sullivan said she would give her ruling on Mr Corbyn’s application “as soon as I can”.
Before the hearing, Sir Keir told reporters: “I’m not going to comment on the particular case.
“I don’t want to see the Labour Party tied up in court proceedings, I want to see the Labour Party out there campaigning.
“My message across the Labour Party is: ‘Let’s all pull together’.
“We have got a pandemic to deal with, we have got a duty to deliver a better Britain at the end of this, let’s pull together and do that.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
