Labour has dropped an investigation into one of its own MPs over claims he lashed out at the party’s chairman amid an anti-Semitism row engulfing the party.
It was claimed the MP for Dudley North raised his voice and called Labour “a sewer” of anti-Semitism during a heated discussion with Ian Lavery in the House of Commons in July.
The row came as the party tussled over adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.
He said Labour’s General Secretary Jennie Formby had written to him saying the party has closed the investigation it launched in July, saying no further action will be taken against the MP.
Austin said in a statement he will continue to speak out about anti-Semitism. “I make no apologies for being upset about anti-Semitism – I think every Labour Party member ought to be angry about racism and the failure to deal with it properly, but I did not scream abuse as was alleged, so I am pleased the Labour Party have dropped its threat to hold an investigation,” he said.
“Frankly, they should never have threatened this in the first place.
“The way this whole issue has been handled is unacceptable and the time it has taken is appalling.”
Austin admitted getting involved in a “heated discussion” with Lavery in the House of Commons over how the party had handled anti-Semitism complaints. Several MPs at the time were unhappy that Labour did not accept the full list of examples attached to the IHRA code.
Austin’s colleague, Dame Margaret Hodge, was revealed by HuffPost UK to have branded the party’s leader Jeremy Corbyn an “anti-Semite” and a “racist” over the decision not to include the definition.
She was also placed under investigation over the confrontation, but the probe was dropped in August.
It has been reported Austin had a meeting with Formby and Labour chief whip but that no formal hearing took place.
Austin said: “One of the reasons I joined the Labour Party as a teenager in Dudley 35 years ago was to fight racism.
“I believe that just as passionately now as I did then and I will not be deterred from speaking out about anti-Semitism and racism in the Labour Party.
“The Labour Party’s priority ought to be dealing with the outstanding cases of anti-Semitism and doing everything it can to win back the trust of the Jewish community, not investigating people like me for complaining about their failure to tackle anti-Semitism properly.”
In September, the party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) agreed to adopt all of the 11 examples accompanying the IHRA definition, such as drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis and accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel than their own nation.
It came after the issue had dogged Labour and Corbyn all summer, with protests and counter-protests on the subject.
The party leader had also come under heavy criticism over previous statements he had made on Israel.