CPS considers charges against five ex Labour members over alleged antisemitism

Prosecutors are considering whether to bring charges against five former Labour Party members over alleged antisemitic hate crimes, the Met Police’s commissioner said today.

Speaking to LBC radio host Nick Ferrari, Dame Cressida Dick confirmed police handed files against five people to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) back in September.

Pressed to speculate on a timescale for the CPS decision, Dame Cressida told Ferrari: “It is a very complex crime type, to be honest.

“There is a lot for them to look at and a lot for them to consider as to whether there is either sufficient evidence to charge and whether it is in the public interest so to do.”

Police launched a criminal investigation into some allegations contained in a dossier of evidence submitted by the radio station during an interview with Dame Cressida back in 2018.

Files were assessed by specialist officers, then submitted to the CPS on 27 September, a spokesperson for the force confirmed on Wednesday.

Four people, including three men in their forties and fifties and a woman in her seventies, were arrested on suspicion of publishing or distributing material likely to stir up racial hatred and released under investigation.

Two men in their sixties were interviewed under caution in July. Police enquiries into one of them are ongoing.

A spokesperson for the CPS declined to comment on timelines for charging decisions when approached for comment.

But a statement from the public agency in November stated: “We are considering the material to see if more information is needed from the police before we begin considering charging decisions.”

The Metropolitan Police said it would not comment further on the details of its investigation.