Jeremy Corbyn has attempted to cast doubt on the impartiality of an anti-racism watchdog investigating claims of institutional anti-Semitism inside the Labour party.
The ex-Labour leader has said that the Equality and Human Rights Commission, whose inquiry into the party is expected to report shortly, was deliberately underfunded by Conservative ministers in order “to take away its independent status and make it part of the government machine”.
Asked if he thought his belief would affect the outcome of the investigation he said: “Let’s see what happens.”
A spokesperson for the EHRC told Middle East Eye: “We are an independent regulator and take our impartiality very seriously.
"We have robust procedures and policies in place to manage conflicts of interests or perceived conflicts of interests.”
A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “We fully respect the independence of the EHRC.
" Keir Starmer has made clear he will cooperate fully with the Commission's inquiry.
"We will implement, in full, any recommendations made by the EHRC.”
Campaigning group Labour Against Antisemitism called Mr Corbyn's comment“unacceptable”.
“By apparently appearing to invent a bizarre conspiracy theory about Conservative underfunding of this independent and highly-respected body, Mr Corbyn has once again brought the Labour Party into disrepute,” said spokeperson Euan Philipps.
It is more than a year since the EHRC began its formal investigation into whether Labour has “unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised people” from the Jewish community.
Labour under Mr Corbyn rejected claims that it had acted improperly.
Allies of Mr Corbyn drafted a report accusing Labour staff members of deliberately mishandling complaints in order to damage the Labour leader.
This report was then leaked to the media, prompting an internal Labour investigation into the document, its claims and the manner in which it was leaked.
