Chakrabarti Inquiry
| Date | Inquiry, 29 April 2016; Report, 30 June 2016 |
|---|---|
| Location | London, England |
| Theme | Racism in the Labour Party |
| Cause | Suspension of Labour Party members amid allegations of antisemitism |
| Organised by | Labour Party |
| Participants | Shami Chakrabarti |
| Outcome | Publication of Chakrabarti Report |
The Chakrabarti Inquiry was a 2016 investigation into allegations of antisemitism and other forms of racism in the United Kingdom's Labour Party. Chaired by prominent barrister Shami Chakrabarti, the inquiry was launched following comments made by two high-profile Labour figures, Naz Shah and Ken Livingstone that were deemed to have been antisemitic in nature; Shah, a Member of Parliament and Livingstone, the former Mayor of London were subsequently suspended from the party pending an investigation. The inquiry presented its findings on 30 June 2016, stating that although antisemitism and other types of racism were not endemic within Labour, there was an "occasionally toxic atmosphere".
The inquiry was established by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn on 29 April 2016, following the suspension of Naz Shah, the Labour MP for Bradford West, and Ken Livingstone, the former Mayor of London, after media reports about comments both had made concerning Jews and the state of Israel. In April 2016, reports had emerged that Shah had posted comments on Twitter during 2014 suggesting that Israel should be relocated to the United States, after which Livingstone sought to defend the comments during a radio interview, claiming in the process that Adolf Hitler was a supporter of Zionism. Both were subsequently suspended from the party pending an investigation into their conduct.
Announcing the inquiry, Corbyn told The Guardian newspaper that he was determined to expunge racism from the party: "Labour is an anti-racist party to its core and has a long and proud history of standing against racism, including antisemitism." He appointed Shami Chakrabarti, the former head of the advocacy group Liberty to chair the investigation. The inquiry's remit would be to recommend how Labour could best tackle instances of racism, including cases of antisemitism and Islamophobia, with Chakrabarti speaking to various groups affected by such issues, such as the Jewish community. She would then report back to party officials within two months, and set out guidelines on acceptable behaviour and language.
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