Labour leadership hopeful Lisa Nandy says she was ‘troubled’ by anti-racism campaigner Trevor Phillips’ comments on Islam but refuses to say if she backs his suspension from party for ‘Islamophobic’ views on Asian grooming gangs
- Trevor Phillips was suspended from Labour over allegations of Islamophobia
- He rejected allegations and is urging Labour leadership challengers to back him
- Lisa Nandy said she ‘admired’ Mr Phillips but was ‘troubled’ by some comments
- She said case ‘highlights how badly discredited’ Labour’s complaints process is
Trevor Phillips has been suspended by the Labour Party
Labour leadership hopeful Lisa Nandy today said she was ‘troubled’ by comments made by Trevor Phillips about Islam after he was suspended by the party over allegations of Islamophobia.
Ms Nandy said that she ‘admired a lot of the work’ done by the veteran anti-racism campaigner but she then expressed concerns about some of his previous remarks.
However, she refused to say whether she agreed with the suspension.
Mr Phillips is now being investigated by the party over past comments, some of which date back years, including remarks on Pakistani Muslim men sexually abusing children in northern British towns.
He stood by his remarks yesterday, blaming ‘gangsterism’ and suggesting he was a victim of ‘payback’ after criticising the Labour leadership’s handling of anti-Semitism cases.
Meanwhile, Ms Nandy also said Mr Phillips’ case ‘highlights how badly discredited’ the Labour Party’s complaints process has become.
Ms Nandy said all allegations needed to be taken ‘seriously’ but cautioned that there was a ‘particular problem’ in Mr Phillips’ case given his status as a former chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The watchdog is currently investigating the Labour Party over allegations of anti-Semitism.
Ms Nandy said Mr Phillips’ case ‘shows how far we have lost the trust of everybody in this process’ as she said the party’s complaints process must be totally independent in comments which will be seen as a warning against a stitch-up.
It came as Mr Phillips called on Ms Nandy and her other leadership challengers to say publicly whether they support his suspension.
The Telegraph reported the 66-year-old has called on Ms Nandy, Sir Keir Starmer and Rebecca Long-Bailey to ‘pick a side’ in the row.
Lisa Nandy told ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme the case of Trevor Phillips ‘highlights how badly discredited’ Labour’s complaints process is
Ms Nandy was asked during an interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme whether she agreed with Mr Phillips but she would not be drawn.
She replied: ‘I don’t know if there is something to the allegations or not.
‘I have admired a lot of the work that Trevor Phillips has done on combating racism over the last few years but I have also been troubled with some of the things he has said about Islam.’
Setting out what specifically she was ‘troubled’ by, Ms Nandy continued: ‘That he has said that Islam is not a race and therefore Muslims do not experience racism.
‘He has also made a series of comments about how Muslims are different and how Muslims think in particular ways and have particular attitudes.’
But Ms Nandy also said she was ‘really troubled by’ Labour’s complaints process.
‘I think this just highlights how badly discredited the Labour Party has become and the Labour leadership has become about the way that we handle complaints,’ she said.
‘There is a particular problem in the case of Trevor Phillips. He was the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Labour is currently being investigated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission for institutional anti-Semitism.
‘It just shows how far we have lost the trust of everybody in this process and why there has to be an independent process that is not subject to political interference.’
The Wigan MP said Labour has ‘got to take these allegations seriously’ and added: ‘I don’t know where this complaint has come from but if somebody has made a complaint about Islamophobia, given how prevalent Islamophobia is, given the impact that it is having in the real world on people, we have to take it seriously.
‘It doesn’t mean that you presume guilt. I have said that in every case of anti-Semitism as well.’
Mr Phillips said that his case represented a ‘test for the kind of party these candidates want to lead’.
His call was supported by the government’s anti-Semitism adviser Lord Mann, who said: ‘It is a mark of leadership… either back the investigation or back Trevor Phillips.
‘To suspend the first head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission is not a sit on the fence issue.’
A Labour Party spokeswoman said: ‘The Labour Party takes all complaints about Islamophobia extremely seriously and they are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate disciplinary action is taken.’
Voting in the Labour leadership race is ongoing and will come to a close on April 2. A winner will then be announced at a special event on April 4.