It comes after an investigation slammed the Labour Party over its response to allegations of anti-Semitism within its ranks.
ADVERTISEMENTJeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the UK's main political opposition Labour, has been suspended from the party, it has been confirmed.
It comes after an investigation slammed the party over its response to allegations of anti-Semitism within its ranks.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said the party was "responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination".
Labour was plagued by accusations of anti-Semitism during the leadership of Corbyn, who stepped down after losing the last election.
Corbyn, reacting to the investigation, said: “One antisemite is one too many, but the scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media. That combination hurt Jewish people and must never be repeated.
“My sincere hope is that relations with Jewish communities can be rebuilt and those fears overcome. While I do not accept all of its findings, I trust its recommendations will be swiftly implemented to help move on from this period.”
Then, a few hours later, news came of his suspension from the party.
“In light of his comments made today and his failure to retract them subsequently, the Labour Party has suspended Jeremy Corbyn pending investigation. He has also had the whip removed from the Parliamentary Labour Party,” said a Labour spokeswoman.
EHRC launched an investigation after complaints from the Campaign Against Antisemitism and the Jewish Labour Movement.
In a report released on Thursday, it said Labour had breached the Equality Act (2010) three times: for harassment; political interference in antisemitism complaints; and failure to provide adequate training to those handling antisemitism complaints.
"The Labour Party made a commitment to zero tolerance for antisemitism," said Caroline Waters, interim chair of EHRC.
"Our investigation has highlighted multiple areas where its approach and leadership to tackling antisemitism was insufficient. This is inexcusable and appeared to be a result of a lack of willingness to tackle antisemitism rather than an inability to do so.
"It is encouraging to see the Party’s new leadership has committed to implementing our recommendations in full. If the Party truly wants to rebuild trust with its members and the Jewish community, it must acknowledge the impact that numerous investigations and years of failure to tackle antisemitism has had on Jewish people and take swift, sincere action to improve.
“Politicians on all sides have a responsibility to set standards for our public life and to lead the way in challenging racism in all its forms. There have been recent examples of behaviour from politicians of various parties that fall well below the standards we would expect. While freedom of expression is essential to proper political debate, politicians must recognise the power of their language to sow division. Our recommendations provide a foundation for leaders to make sure that they adhere to equality law and demonstrate their commitment to diversity and inclusion through their words and actions.”