Row Over Labour Peerage For Shami Chakrabarti

But it is Chakrabarti’s nomination by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn that has hit the most headlines, with some party MPs opposing it. Once opposed to the honours system itself, Corbyn made hers the only recommendation from his party to the House of Lords. “I didn’t know that we’d provided citations for this particular round, and I do think it’s a mistake”.

He said it would “seriously prejudice” the inquiry it if transpired the offer was made during the inquiry.

Chief Rabbi Mirvis, who rarely intervenes in politics, tweeted on Thursday: “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”.

Mr Corbyn won the backing of the party’s official youth wing, Young Labour, whose national committee voted by 15-8 to nominate him for re-election.

Cameron awarded peerages to 16 people, many of whom held positions within his office.

But a spokesman for Mr Corbyn said: “Shami Chakrabarti shares Jeremy’s ambition for reform of the House of Lords”. “You can ask me… but I’m going to evade it”, she said.

Chakrabarti also said during her interview that she joined the Labour party the same day she was announced as the special investigator into the anti-Semitsm probe, adding that the inquiry should be conducted internally within the party.

Chakrabarti said the report was commissioned “because unfortunately there is some anti-Semitism and other manifestations of racism – and some thoroughly uncomradely behavior” in the Labour Party.

Asked if she wanted to run as a Labour MP in future, she indicated that she did not. “There has too often been an attitude that, ‘We are on the Left, therefore we can not be racist, ‘ whereas in fact there is, sadly, a longstanding tradition of anti-Semitism in parts of the Left that should be recognized, acknowledged and defeated”.

She shot to prominence after she was appointed director of human rights organisation Liberty in 2003 and campaigned against what the pressure group sees as the “excessive” anti-terrorist measures that followed the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, such as the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (ATCSA).

Speculation was rife last month that Shami Chakrabarti could be elevated to the House of Lords when she refused to rule it out in an interview with J-TV.

In an often fiery exchange in Cardiff, Mr Corbyn hit back, blaming Mr Smith and others for undermining party unity when they quit the shadow cabinet in protest at his leadership.

Jewish groups and leaders across the spectrum sharply denounced the appointment, with some questioning whether the move amounted to a reward from Corbyn to Chakrabarti for downplaying antisemitism within Labour.

Labour Friends of Israel director Jennifer Gerber said the nomination “clearly undermines the independence of her inquiry and raises further questions about the seriousness of his commitment to ridding the Lab Party of the scourge of anti-Semitism”.

“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”.