LAAS Statement on Announcement of “English irony” Legal Action Against Jeremy Corbyn

Fiona Sharpe, spokesman for Labour Against Antisemitism:

“Labour Against Antisemitism fully supports the legal action being taken by Jewish activist Richard Millett against the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

Mr Corbyn’s comments that “British Zionists… don’t understand English irony”, made at a Palestine Return Centre event in 2013, and his subsequent comments regarding Mr Millett made on the Andrew Marr Show in September 2018, were in our opinion offensive, defamatory and arguably antisemitic. 

Racial discrimination on the Left needs to be confronted and tackled effectively and aggressively - even if to do so requires recourse to the law courts.”