Campaigner Pete Gregson has lodged a complaint with Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) because the Party leaked his suspension to the Jewish News five days before they sent him the letter about it.

Mr Gregson had seen the Jewish News article of the 11th March stating  that he was suspended by Labour. He had written to the Jewish News (JN) pointing out a number of inaccuracies in the article, including the fact he had not been suspended. His letter was ignored; a JN reporter had rung him, who seemed disinterested in his complaint, only asking if “he thought Labour was doing enough to combat anti-Semitism!”, to which he had replied that “there was virtually no anti-Semitism”. He wrote to the JN Editor again. Again, his letter was ignored. Gregson even went so far as to lodge a complaint against JN with IPSO over the article, because of its slanderous and inaccurate content.

Then, on the 16th March, five days after the Jewish News had run the story, he received notice from Labour that he really was suspended. The letter pointed out that the Labour Party’s investigation process operates confidentially and that “The Party will not share information about the case publicly.” Apparently, it will.

What is even more galling is that he has been suspended for a rule that does not exist. The letter states that he may have breached rule 2.1.8 . On consulting the rulebook (which can be found here), Mr Gregson discovered that there was no rule 2.1.8

He wrote to Labour’s Disputes Unit on Monday asking for an explanation.  To date, he has had no response.

A copy of the letter of suspension can be viewed here . As to what this disciplinary action signifies and as to how the matter of his alleged misconduct will be investigated and judged upon, Mr Gregson is yet in the dark.

Because since the 19th October, two seeks after he received his initial Notice of Investigation, Gregson has been asking for a copy of the Party’s disciplinary policy and procedures, and has lodged numerous complaints over the Party’s refusal to provide these. He has pointed out to the NEC on several occasions that “this is setting Labour apart from virtually every other civic body and trade union in the UK; even the GMB, no great lover of civil rights and social justice, provides one to its members on request.“

He has also pointed out to the NEC that his human rights of freedom of expression according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are being undermined by the Party’s actions. He refers them to Articles 18–21, which sanctions the so-called "constitutional liberties", with spiritual, public, and political freedoms, such as freedom of thought, opinion, religion and conscience, word, and peaceful association of the individual. He has asked why Labour, the party of social justice, seeks to deny these rights.

And it is not only Labour who deny him these rights. Mr Gregson is commencing legal action against Merseyside Police for their refusal to allow him to display a banner featuring this image at Labour Conference last September. His lawyer, Ian Gould at DPP Law, believes he has good prospects of success, for the police have breached the Human Rights Act (specifically Article 10 ECHR, which protects our right to hold our own opinions and to express them freely without government interference.). The full story is here

Mr Gregson said “The JN article about me is woefully inaccurate. I never said Israel invented the Holocaust, a plainly ridiculous assertion, when 6 million innocents were murdered in the crime of last century. I said it “exaggerates” according to the Merriam-Webster definition of “over-emphasises”. Furthermore, I have not “fought the verdict in Court”. I attended an appeal hearing convened by the GMB at my request. I would invite readers to watch the video at tinyurl.com/gmbihra  if they are interested in the truth behind these smears and to read my statement at tinyurl.com/gmbstatement . And for the Labour Party to have suspended me for a rule that does not exist is plainly ludicrous. That they leaked the story beforehand to JN is a flagrant breach of data protection regulations. I am very annoyed. I begin to believe Labour HQ, like the GMB, is infested with Zionists. Jews need to beware what is being done in their name by these zealots. For Zionism is racism. And the damage they, and others in the Zionist Jewish Labour Movement, are doing to Labour, is immeasurable. Only Jewish Voice for Labour should speak for Jews in the Party.“

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Note the “Notice of Administrative Suspension” states that “The Labour Party’s investigation process operates confidentially. That is vital to ensure fairness to you and the complainant, and to protect the rights of all concerned under the Data Protection Act 2018. I must therefore ask you to ensure that you keep all information and correspondence relating to this investigation private, and that you do not share it with third parties or the media (including social media). That includes any information you receive from the Party identifying the name of the person who has made a complaint about you, any witnesses, the allegations against you, and the names of Party staff dealing with the matter. If you fail to do so, the Party reserves the right to take action to protect confidentiality, and you may be liable to disciplinary action for breach of the Party’s rules. The Party will not share information about the case publicly unless, as a result of a breach of confidentiality, it becomes necessary to correct inaccurate reports. In that case we will only release the minimum information necessary to make the correction. The Party may also disclose information in order to comply with its safeguarding obligations.”  Mr Gregson is astonished that the Party has the gall to say such things in a letter, having already leaked the story to the press.

Labour Against the Witch-hunt have published support for Mr Gregson over the leak and his suspension. See their post here.

Hundreds are victims of bogus anti-Semitism, who have done nothing more than criticise Israel (see a few more examples at www.kidsnotsuits.com/rogues-gallery/).

SEE PETE'S SPEECH IN KENTISH TOWN AFTER GMB APPEAL ON ABOVE VIDEO - PLEASE SHARE. USE tinyurl.com/ihratalk