Thread by @AdamWagner1

BREAKING NEWS:
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has announced it will conduct a full statutory investigation on whether the Labour Party "has unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised people because they are Jewish"

equalityhumanrights.com/en/our-work/ne…

(Thread)

I act for the Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) and. We been working on reporting the Labour Party to the UK's equality and human rights regulator since Autumn 2018.

Alongside our submission, @JewishLabour put in a large tranche of evidence /2

Here is a thread on what a 'section 20' investigation is, why it is a powerful legal tool for getting to the bottom of unlawful behaviour and why the EHRC actually has greater powers than a statutory public inquiry does /3

https://twitter.com/AdamWagner1/status/1132586360538316800?s=20

EHRC has finalised terms of reference, which means that the Labour Party have been consulted and will have known @EHRC was going ahead for a while.

The terms of reference are extensive, a root and branch review of the party's actions and processes equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/…

@EHRC As I predicted in my thread over the weekend, the @EHRC will not look at every alleged antisemitic incident but will instead consider the Party's response to a "sample of complaints" which have taken place in the past three years.

@EHRC Here is the key part of terms of reference - very wide:
1. Have unlawful acts been committed by the party/its employees/agents?
2. Has the party implemented the recommendations in its own reports?
3. Are its processes fit for purpose?
4. Has it responded to complaints lawfully?

@EHRC Difficult to emphasise what an extraordinary position this puts Labour in:
1. It created the equality and human rights regulator which is now using its most draconian powers to investigate its creator
2. Only other political party to be investigated is the BNP
...

... 3. EHRC has more extensive powers than a Inquiries Act inquiry as can force compliance with recommendations
4. Inquiry likely to take many months and possibly over a year
5. EHRC has powers to drag party to court if it isn't complying with requests for evidence

One of the corrosive features of the issue of antisemitism in Labour is that it has become so factional. My hope for this investigation is that it will bring some much needed objectivity into the question of whether Labour has acted lawfully. Which is what the EHRC is for.

Another point to make is how unusual it is for the EHRC to use its section 20 investigatory powers. Has done it only a handful of times - and it is also a relatively cautious organisation. Goes to show how serious the issue is

https://twitter.com/AdamWagner1/status/1132586410026983425?s=20

Final thought: no amount of serious incidents, critical reports or negative press coverage - even statutory investigations - can solve this.

That is entirely in the hands of the Labour Party, which has shown (in my view) serious failures of process, culture and leadership.

Ultimately, although I am pleased @EHRC has listened to @antisemitism and @JewishLabour, and gratified that the terms of reference reflect the submission that I drafted, this is also a sad day for the Jewish community and Labour Party. It should not have come to this

@EHRC @antisemitism @JewishLabour Something I missed at the very end of the Equality and Human Rights Commission's terms of reference - they "may have regard" to the IHRA definition of antisemitism and associated examples whilst recognising it isn't legally binding.

This is actually very important...

... it shows that definitions such as IHRA and (when/if it is agreed a definition of Islamophobia) can have a 'soft' impact on institutional behaviour without it being formally part of the law - as opposed to 'hard' impact when it is part of law. Really important development

I use 'soft' and 'hard' in the way we talk about soft and hard international law. Sometimes something starts as 'soft' (i.e. none formally binding) but works its way into institutions until it is either transposed into hard law or it effectively is hard law.

The EHRC has no duty to consider the IHRA definition - or any definition which isn't in the Equality Act or the EHRC's own statutory guidance to the Equality Act. But if Labour has adopted the IHRA definition (as it did last summer) then it is clearly relevant background