Labour 'vows to settle vast majority of anti-Semitism cases by July'

Labour has pledged to settle the "vast majority" of outstanding cases of alleged anti-Semitism in the party within months, it has been reported.

The development comes after Jewish leaders accused Jeremy Corbyn of failing to turn words into actions in tackling anti-Semitism in the Labour party.

The leader had met with Jonathan Arkush, president of Board of Deputies of British Jews (BDBJ) and the chair of the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC), Jonathan Goldstein, in Westminster on Tuesday.

Among the proposals put forward by the community leaders was a fixed timetable for dealing with outstanding cases of anti-Semitism and expediting long-standing cases like that of Ken Livingstone.

According to the BBC, the party has pledged to settle most of the cases by July.

Following the meeting Mr Corbyn had said the talks had been "positive and constructive".

However Mr Arkush rejected the suggestion the meeting had been constructive, telling BBC's Newsnight: "Positive yes, but if you measure constructiveness by the actions to go with the words then I don't think that's what I would call it."

Mr Arkush said the meeting was "friendly" in tone and Mr Corbyn was "extremely engaging (and) he looked interested".

"But there were no actions to go with the words, yet again, and that's why we thought the meeting has been a real missed opportunity and a great disappointment," he added.

Main photo: Members of the Board of Deputies (left to right) Gillian Merron, Jonathan Arkush, Jonathan Goldstein, and Simon Johnson speak to the media on College Green following a meeting with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn after weeks of criticism of his party's handling of anti-Semitism allegations. Jonathan Brady/PA Wire