Criminal investigation launched into claims of antisemitism within Labour Party

Met Police have launched a criminal investigation into allegations of antisemitic hate crimes within the Labour Party.

An internal Labour party document detailing 45 cases of alleged antisemitism was handed to Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick by radio station LBC during a regular phone-in slot in September, the force said.

She told the BBC her officers were assessing online material, believed to include messages posted by party members on social media.

But Dick insisted the Met was not investigating the Labour Party itself.

A Met Police spokesperson said: “On Tuesday 4 September, the Met Commissioner was handed a folder of paperwork following a radio interview with LBC Radio in Leicester Square.

“The complainant alleged that the documentation included evidence of anti-Semitic hate crimes.

“The contents have been examined by specialist officers.

“A criminal investigation has commenced into some of the allegations within the documentation."

A Labour Party spokesman told media: "The Labour party has a robust system for investigating complaints of alleged breaches of Labour party rules by its members.”

“Where someone feels they have been a victim of crime, they should report it to the police in the usual way.”