Row Over Labour Peerage For Shami Chakrabarti

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and civil rights campaigner Shami Chakrabarti

Shadow health secretary Diane Abbott has slammed critics of Jeremy Corbyn's decision to nominate Shami Chakrabarti for a peerage.

Jewish community leaders said the credibility of her report into anti-Semitism in the Labour Party "lies in tatters" after she accepted the peerage, while Labour MPs also criticised the decision.
Ms Chakrabarti's inquiry reported in June that the party was not "overrun" by anti-Semitism.
The party's deputy leader Tom Watson said the award was a "mistake" and that he had not been consulted, while Ilford North MP Wes Streeting suggested the circumstances of the nomination "stink".
Ms Abbott told Sky News that Mr Streeting should "consider his position" as an MP and added: "Shami Chakrabarti is one of the most distinguished people in public life. She could have had a peerage under a number of Labour leaders.
"To say her appointment stinks, what message does that give to young women of Shami's background about stepping into the public space?"
But Mr Streeting hit back, telling Sky that Mr Corbyn had been "naive", and challenging Mr Corbyn and Ms Chakrabarti to answer questions about the appointment.
He said: "Firstly, when was this appointment to the House of Lords first discussed, secondly, when was it agreed and thirdly, did those discussions coincide with the inquiry into anti-Semitism."

Video: Vaz On Chakrabarti Peerage

Commenting on the peerage, Mr Corbyn told Sky News: "She's an internationally renowned lawyer and she will make a great contribution to the House of Lords for two reasons: one - she's a brilliant lawyer who will bring those skills to the House of Lords.
"Secondly, she's committed to the abolition of the House of Lords and replacement with a democratically elected assembly, otherwise I wouldn't have dreamt of supporting her nomination."
Home Affairs Committee Chairman Keith Vaz called Ms Chakrabarti a "worthy candidate" but said she had "made a mistake" by accepting the peerage and should have entered the House of Commons first.
He said: "She's only been in the Labour Party for a short while, so I welcome her appointment to Parliament, though to the wrong house.
"On the anti-Semitism inquiry we were told this was an independent inquiry and if it transpires that Shami Chakrabarti was offered her peerage before she was appointed or during the time she was appointed to conduct this inquiry then we need to have been told by Mr Corbyn when he appeared before us.
"I have actually written to her asking her when she was offered this peerage because it does bare on the inquiry that we have concluded but we've not just reported on."
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Marcus Dysch, assistant news editor of the Jewish Chronicle, told Sky News: "What really sticks in the craw of the Jewish community is that you have a situation where the Labour Party is dogged by allegations of anti-Semitism, and Jeremy Corbyn launches an independent inquiry, and then we find out that actually there's probably a bit more going on.
"Ms Chakrabarti's report wasn't quite a whitewash but there wasn't much there.
"It's not about her previous work or her character, it's about credibility."
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said the decision to accept the honour calls into question the independence of her inquiry.
He said in a tweet: "Shami Chakrabarti has a proud record of public service, but in accepting this peerage, the credibility of her report lies in tatters and the Labour Party's stated intention, to unequivocally tackle anti-Semitism, remains woefully unrealised."
She had already faced questions over her independence in the investigation after she revealed she had joined the Labour Party.
Ms Chakrabarti has been one of the country's leading human rights campaigners for the last 15 years and headed up the campaign group Liberty.
Ms Chakrabarti, who said she was "honoured" to accept the peerage, spearheaded the probe into claims of anti-Semitism following the suspensions of MP Naz Shah and former London mayor Ken Livingstone.
The inquiry found there was evidence of "ignorant attitudes", but concluded the "Labour Party is not overrun by anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, or other forms of racism".