Jeremy Corbyn has privately expressed concern that evidence of anti-Semitism in Labour has been “mislaid or ignored”, according to reports.
The Labour leader made the comments during a secretly recorded meeting with MP Dame Margaret Hodge, the Sunday Times said.
Corbyn was speaking in February as he outlined his intention to appoint former Cabinet minister Lord Falconer to review the party’s complaints process, the newspaper said.
The newspaper quoted Corbyn saying: “The point of him (Falconer) is that he will look at the speed of dealing with cases, the administration of them, and the collation of the evidence before it is put before appropriate panels and things.
“Because I was concerned that evidence was either being mislaid, ignored or not used and that there had to be some better system.”
The Labour leader also said he had been the target of abuse, according to the newspaper.
It reported Corbyn as saying: “You see, I get a huge amount of abusive stuff, mostly, some of it’s quite threatening, you know, murder and stuff.”
A Labour spokesman said the party takes allegations of anti-Semitism seriously.
He said: “This shows Jeremy Corbyn’s desire to make procedures as robust and efficient as possible and to rebuild trust with the Jewish community.
“We don’t comment on staffing matters. Complaints are being handled in the usual way.
“The Labour Party takes all complaints of anti-Semitism extremely seriously and we are committed to challenging and campaigning against it in all its forms.
“All complaints about anti-Semitism are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures and any appropriate disciplinary action is taken.”
Referring to the recording, a Labour Party source said: “Before Jennie Formby became general secretary, we were alarmed that at times it seemed that former compliance unit staffers were targeting Jewish activists not in breach of rules, while obstructing action on clear-cut cases of anti-Semitism.”