Jeremy Corbyn suspended by Labour Party after claiming anti-Semitism allegations were 'dramatically overstated'

Mr Corbyn said he did “not accept all” of the findings of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)released today, which found the party broke the law on harassment and discrimination under his watch.

And he maintained that the extent of the problem had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons” by opponents and the media.

Shortly after Mr Corbyn’s statement, new Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told a press conference the findings of the equality watchdog marked a “day of shame” and said he was “truly sorry for all the pain and grief that has been caused”.

“If – after all the pain, all the grief, and all the evidence in this report – there are still those who think there’s no problem with anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, that it’s all exaggerated, or a factional attack, then, frankly, you are part of the problem too,” Sir Keir said.

With the slogan “a new leadership” displayed prominently, he added: “And you should be nowhere near the Labour Party either.”

Pressed about his predecessor’s remarks, Sir Keir said that he “would look carefully at what Jeremy Corbyn has said in full”, but added: “Those who deny there’s a problem are part of the problem.

“Under my leadership, we will have zero tolerance of anti-Semitism.”

But shortly afterwards a Labour Party spokesman said: “In light of his comments made today and his failure to retract them subsequently, the Labour Party has suspended Jeremy Corbyn pending investigation.

“He has also had the whip removed from the Parliamentary Labour Party.”

Mr Corbyn tweeted: "I will strongly contest the political intervention to suspend me.

"I’ve made absolutely clear those who deny there has been an antisemitism problem in the Labour Party are wrong.

"I will continue to support a zero tolerance policy towards all forms of racism."

Sir Keir said he would fully implement the recommendations from the EHRC, which called for an independent process to handle anti-Semitism complaints after finding three breaches of the Equality Act.

The investigation found evidence of “political interference” in the complaints process by then leader Mr Corbyn’s office and criticised a “serious failings in leadership”.

In a statement, Mr Corbyn said his team had “acted to speed up” the process and had made “substantial improvements” in handling complaints.

“One anti-Semite is one too many, but the scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media. That combination hurt Jewish people and must never be repeated,” he said.

“My sincere hope is that relations with Jewish communities can be rebuilt and those fears overcome. While I do not accept all of its findings, I trust its recommendations will be swiftly implemented to help move on from this period.”

During the press conference, Sir Keir was pressed over whether Mr Corbyn, who he served under as shadow Brexit secretary, was fit to have been leader.

“The report doesn’t make individual findings about Jeremy Corbyn,” Sir Keir said.

But he acknowledged it made “strong findings about leadership”, adding: “We all have to accept the findings in this report, we all have to accept responsibility.”

EHRC lead investigator Alasdair Henderson told reporters that the extent of the problem was greater than Mr Corbyn alone but said that he “does have a responsibility ultimately for those failings”.

Campaign Against Anti-Semitism chief executive Gideon Falter criticised Mr Corbyn’s remarks as a “very sad response”.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn insisted he was not “part of the problem” over the party’s handling of anti-Semitism.

In a broadcast interview he said: “The numbers of cases in the public perception had become overstated.

“The existence of the problem, I fully acknowledge, which is why I took action to end the problem in the party by introducing a process to get anti-Semites out of the party.”

In response to Sir Keir Starmer’s comments about those who deny the seriousness of anti-Semitism being part of the problem, Mr Corbyn said: “No, I’m not part of the problem.”