The leader of the largest union benefactor for the Labour Party Len McCluskey said that he will be re-evaluating Unite's political contributions following the party's decision to pay out damages to ex-staffers over their handling of internal antisemitism, he told the Observer.
The UK Labour Party apologized and agreed to pay damages to seven whistleblowers who sued the party for defamation after they were denounced for telling the BBC’s Panorama about antisemitism in the party, despite pressure from former party leader Jeremy Corbyn to fight the case.
The party’s apology was issued in the High Court, including an admission that it acted to sully the former employees’ reputations after they spoke out against the efforts of then-leader Corbyn’s team’s attempts to undermine internal investigations into antisemitism in the party.
“Before the broadcast of the program, the Labour Party issued a press release that contained defamatory and false allegations about these whistleblowers,” Labour’s apology read. “We acknowledge the many years of dedicated and committed service that the whistleblowers have given to the Labour Party as members and as staff. We appreciate their valuable contribution at all levels of the party. We unreservedly withdraw all allegations of bad faith, malice and lying.”
The party added: “We would like to apologize unreservedly for the distress, embarrassment and hurt caused by their publication. We have agreed to pay them damages.”
The Unite leader categorically stated there is "no doubt" he will be reviewing the millions of pounds the Labour union affiliate donates to the party following the six-figure settlement.
“It’s an abuse of members’ money,” McCluskey told the Observer, according to the Guardian. “A lot of it is Unite’s money and I’m already being asked all kinds of questions by my executive. It’s as though a huge sign has been put up outside the Labour Party with ‘queue here with your writ and get your payment over there’.
According to the Guardian, while Labour's membership funds a good portion of the party's endeavors, the union remains its largest benefactor.
In this light, McClucksey noted that he has put Labour leader Keir Starmer on "notice" adding that he will combat any maneuver to the right side of politics, according to the Guardian.
“We’ll have to wait to see how the situation unfolds. Unite is financially a very powerful and strong union. We have a political fund that is the largest in the whole of Europe. So of course, my members would expect that we are influential in that respect," McCluskey said, according to the Guardian.
"There will be some interesting debates and discussions in the coming months with [Labour leader] Keir [Starmer], not only for myself but all the unions on the left who are equally in a situation at the moment where they’re wondering where we are, what direction are we going," McCluskey added. "There’s nothing wrong with caution, so long as that doesn’t slip into fear or timidity," he said.
Additionally, he stated that he will not be relinquishing his role any earlier than already expected.
"My period in office finishes in April 2022 and I’ll be in charge until then," he said, according to the Guardian. "This next six- to 12-month period is going to be very, very crucial in industry. That’s my main priority – and of course that spills over into politics, because what the government does, what Labour is campaigning for, matters."
With regard to the lawsuit, Corbyn, his top adviser Seumas Milne and former Labour secretary-general Jennie Formby instructed lawyers, paid for by the UK’s largest labor union, Unite, to try to stop the party from settling the lawsuit, The Jewish Chronicle reported. They also sought to find out whether they were mentioned in the apology statement before it was read in court.
The former Labour leader reacted to the apology on Facebook at the time, calling the decision political and not legal, and writing that “Labour Party members have a right to accountability and transparency of decisions taken in their name.”
The settlement “risks giving credibility to misleading and inaccurate allegations about action taken to tackle antisemitism in the Labour Party in recent years,” Corbyn wrote.
Is Labour Antisemitic? the Panorama episode that aired in July 2019, featured former Labour officials reporting a spike in antisemitism complaints after Corbyn was elected party leader in 2015.
They said senior party members who were close to Corbyn tried to obstruct their investigation into the complaints.
A Labour spokesman called the whistleblowers “disaffected former staff” grinding “personal and political axes” to hurt Corbyn.
Labour also apologized to John Ware, the journalist who reported on antisemitism in the party for Panorama.
“The BBC will always support fair and impartial reporting, exposing wrongdoing and holding power to account,” The BBC Press Team said. “The ‘Panorama’ program did precisely that, but was subject to an extraordinary and vitriolic attack by the Labour Party. We welcome today’s long overdue apology.”
Current Labour leader Keir Starmer has said he is committed to rooting out antisemitism in the party.
He recently sacked his party’s shadow education secretary, MP Rebecca Long-Bailey, for praising an interview with the claim that Israel trained US police in the methods resulting in the murder of George Floyd.
Starmer said “the article contained antisemitic conspiracy theories” and that sharing it “was wrong.”
Under Corbyn, Labour was repeatedly criticized for not doing enough to stamp out antisemitism within the party ranks.
Corbyn has made antisemitic remarks and participated in events honoring antisemites, such as laying a wreath on the graves of the terrorists who tortured and killed Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Zachary Keyser and Lahav Harkov contributed to this report.