POLICE were “picking on” Jeremy Corbyn to “silence the democratic rights of everybody in our society”, he has alleged.
The former Labour leader and John McDonnell were called for interview after a pro-Palestine protest in London earlier this year.
McDonnell revealed in the Commons that police had dropped their investigation into the pair, but said the Metropolitan Police had originally tried to charge them because MPs were held to have “a greater culpability”.
Raising a point of order, McDonnell told the Commons: “You may be aware that (Mr Corbyn) and I were called for interview by the Metropolitan Police following our participation in a demonstration in January calling for peace and justice for the Palestinian people and an end to the genocide in Gaza.
“It was alleged that we failed to follow police restrictions on the protest. This is untrue, and at all times we followed police instructions.
“We can now report that the police have dropped the case against us and there will be no charges.”
McDonnell alleged that “the Metropolitan Police informed us that our case was referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) because as MPs we were to be held to have, and I quote, ‘a greater culpability’.”
The independent MP for Hayes and Harlington, who was once Corbyn’s shadow chancellor, added: “This is an unacceptable practice which flies in the face of the principle that we are all equal before the law.”
Corbyn, now the independent MP for Islington North, said: “I don’t intend to let it rest just there.”
He told MPs: “If there are elements in the police and possibly in the Crown Prosecution Service who want Members of Parliament to be held to a different standard of account than the general public, that removes us from the normality of law in this country.
“And I think that would be a very, very bad step indeed.”
He later added: “We have to all – all of us – have the right to take part in public protest about human rights abuse, about war, about peace, about anything else. That is what democracy is about.
“And I saw this whole effort as being a means to try and silence the democratic rights of everybody in our society by picking on us two as Members of Parliament, and I’m grateful for the decision that’s been made today.”
Father of the House Edward Leigh said he had “not often taken part in demos in central London” but spoke to “show that opinion in this House of Commons is absolutely united”.
“We’ve always proclaimed what is very much the British way that Members of Parliament are no different from any other member of the public,” the Conservative MP for Gainsborough said.
“If they do wrong, they will be held to account, but they not be subject to some greater test of culpability just because they’re Members of Parliament.”
The Metropolitan Police has been contacted for comment.
