Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn has offered an urgent meeting to the Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies of British Jews in the wake of the anti-Semitism allegations made about him and the Labour Party by, amongst others, our Labour affiliate the Jewish Labour Movement, which culminated in an unprecedented demonstration in Parliament Square on Monday.

Jeremy Corbyn said:

“I recognise that anti-semitism has surfaced within the labour Party and has too often been dismissed as simply a matter of a few bad apples. This has caused pain and hurt to Jewish members of our Party and to the wider Jewish community in Britain. I am sincerely sorry for the pain which has been caused and pledge to redouble my efforts to bring this anxiety to an end.”

He went on “I am sorry for not having studied the content of the mural more closely before wrongly questioning its removal in 2012.”

It is shaming that the Labour Party has become the focus of allegations of anti-Semitism and I welcome Jeremy Corbyn’s pledge to root it out. Labour values require that we rid ourselves of this virulent evil from our ranks and ensure that it can never flourish in our Party and our movement.

See the full text of Jeremy Corbyn’s letter here.