Labour MP John Mann Says Party's General Secretary Is Ignoring Anti-Semitic Complaints

2 March 2019, 10:58 | Updated: 2 March 2019, 11:00

Matt Frei asks Labour MP John Mann to give an example of anti-Semitic complaints being ignored by the party's general secretary, so he names two.

The chair of the all-party parliamentary group against anti-Semitism named two incidents of anti-Semitism abuse that were being investigated by the police, but where the Labour Party had not responded.

His comments come as his party's general secretary and deputy leader clash over how it handles complaints of anti-Semitism.

General secretary Jennie Formby wrote a letter to Labour MPs and peers that directly attacked Tom Watson for "undermining" the current reporting system after he urged those submitting complaints to send them to him so that he could "properly assess" the scale of the problem.

But speaking to Matt Frei, John Mann was frustrating that Ms Formby had ignored multiple complaints but was able to "immediately respond" to the deputy leader.

"When I raise direct violent threats to me and my family by two labour party members, I get no response, no investigation, no action in six months despite writing directly and personally to her - which is what she has asked people to do," he said.

"She failed to act, she even failed to respond."

He later added: "The Labour Party hasn't failed to act because they've checked with the police about prosecution.

"Not even a response, not even an acknowledgement."