David Lammy has apologised for nominating Jeremy Corbyn to be Labour leader in 2015 and said he is “staggered” that some individuals with deeply antisemitic views remain in the Labour party. Speaking at this year’s Limmud festival, a Jewish event, the shadow foreign secretary said he “never believed” Corbyn would become leader and that his nomination was “a mistake”. “I regret nominating Jeremy Corbyn and if I knew what I do now, I never would have nominated him,” Lammy told an online audience of about 300, in comments first reported in Jewish News. “I never believed he would become leader. That was a mistake and I am sorry for that.” Lammy went on to say he was “fully behind” Keir Starmer and said of his leadership: “I don’t believe the overall culture is toxic any more … but until the party is genuinely welcome for everyone, we remain on a journey.”
His comments came after a recent survey of members of the Jewish Labour Movement, a Labour party affiliate, found strong support for Starmer’s efforts to tackle antisemitism since he became leader last year. Roughly 70% of the survey’s 363 respondents said Labour was a safe space for Jewish people under Starmer’s leadership, compared with just 4% who felt the same under Corbyn. But Lammy said Labour was still “on a journey” when it came to improving relations with Britain’s Jewish groups and that certain individuals with antisemitic views remained in the party. “I’ve met some of these individuals and am frankly staggered some are still in the party,” the Tottenham MP said. “But as a lawyer, I understand that people appeal and go to court. There is a process, which can feel slow and tortuous sometimes, but it must be undertaken.” Describing himself as a subscriber to the “rainbow coalition approach to politics”, he said he was proud of the Jewish community for standing “shoulder to shoulder” with leaders including Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu in their fight against apartheid. “The Jewish community understood the fascism that was at the heart of apartheid and the pernicious evil of discrimination. The tradition that I’m from is Jewish friends recognising and being active alongside historically discriminated groups. “It means black communities like mine understanding prejudices existing against Jewish communities.”