Cornwall councillor sends dossier of alleged Labour antisemitism to watchdog

A councillor in Cornwall has sent a dossier of antisemitic content allegedly shared by Labour members to the equalities watchdog, local media reports.

Independent cllr Tim Dwelly was previously Leader of the local Labour group but resigned in March 2018, citing “bullying and intimidation.”

He now claims he has sent the Equalities and Human Right Commission (EHRC)  evidence of antisemitic social media posts and comments, Cornwall Live reports. 

According to the independent councillor for Penzance East, the posts promote Jew-hate and was published by 24 members of the party in Cornwall.

Among the material said to be contained in the dossier are Holocaust denial videos shared on YouTube, and some cases were even referred to the police.

A post allegedly sent by a local Labour member features a swastika and the photo of a young girl, with the caption: “Deliver us from evil, boycott Israel.”

The evidence was prepared by Dwelly and other administrators of the anti-racism Facebook page Cornwall Antisemitism Watch.

Dwelly told Cornwall Live:  “The reason for this dossier being presented to the EHRC is that we have found the overwhelming majority of incidents of antisemitic (as defined by International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) comments and abuse in Cornwall in recent years have been made by members of the Labour Party.

“We understand that the EHRC is considering whether to investigate the Labour Party for institutional racism.

“We are therefore formally asking for the behaviour of significant numbers of party members in the Cornwall Labour party to be considered as part of any investigation.”

Labour has been approached for comment. The EHRC declined to comment.