Today is a day of great shame for the Labour Party and one that could so easily have been avoided if the leadership of my once great party had acted on, rather than ignored thousands of complaints from our members. No one wanted this but in the space of three years we have allowed our strong anti-racist heritage to be undermined by weak leadership and tacit acceptance of hatred in our own ranks.

I welcome the announcement, by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), that they are launching a formal investigation to determine whether the Labour Party has been acting in a way that is institutionally anti-Jewish. The fact that they have determined that the Labour Party has met the threshold for investigation, is in itself is a horrible indictment. I am furious that the leadership of the Labour Party has ignored so many warnings from the Jewish Labour Movement, many MP’s and senior activists for years, which have allowed us to get to this place. The leadership of the Labour Party should hang their heads in shame.

A full investigation by the EHRC should now ensure that investigators have access to all documentation, staff subject to non-disclosure agreements can speak freely and that we can finally get to the truth. I hope that everyone who has been involved in the Labour Party complaints process and those who have experienced anti-Jewish hate will now come forward to give testimony.

In recent years Jewish members have been undermined, humiliated and made to feel unwelcome in my party. Enough really is enough and today begins the journey of shining a spotlight on the problem so we can finally start to get our own house in order.