Keir Starmer said it is “difficult” to see how Jeremy Corbyn could have the Labour whip restored following his comments on Nato.
Last week Corbyn suggested military alliances like Nato could build up “greater danger” in the world and should ultimately be disbanded.
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The former Labour leader was stripped of the whip in 2020 over his response to the equalities watchdog’s report into anti-Semitism in the party.
He was reinstated as a Labour member after a suspension, but Starmer has refused to readmit him to the parliamentary party.
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Corbyn’s allies in the party have repeatedly demanded that their ally be allowed to sit as a Labour MP again so he can stand for the party at the next election.
But asked on the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme whether Corbyn could be restored as a Labour MP following the comments, said: “It is very difficult to see how that situation can now be resolved.
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“He lost the whip because of his response to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission in relation to anti-Semitism but I made it very clear, the first thing I said as party leader was that I was going to tear out anti-Semitism by its roots in our party.
“I’ve also made it clear that our position in the Labour Party is not to accept the false equivalence between Russian aggression and the acts of Nato.”
Told that it sounded as if he was against Corbyn returning as a Labour MP, Starmer replied: “I’m very clear on my positions on those two issues, very clear.”
Corbyn, the MP for Islington North and a long-standing critic of Nato, told Times Radio last week that he did not blame Nato for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine but questioned: “Do military alliances bring peace?”
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He acknowledged the transatlantic alliance was not going to be scrapped immediately but added that people should “look at the process that could happen at the end of the Ukraine war”.
Corbyn has described the choice to remove the Labour whip from him as a “totally unjustified decision”.
Asked if he could start his new own political party, he said: “I don’t know what the future is going to bring.”
Last week Boris Johnson accused Starmer of being “a Corbynista in a smart Islington suit”.
But Starmer responded: “I think you’ll find Mr Corbyn doesn’t have the whip.”
Keir Starmer has accused the Stop The War coalition of siding with Russia as fears grow that it is about to invade Ukraine.
The Labour leader accused the organisation – which has his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn as its vice-president – of consistently supporting the west’s enemies.
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His comments, in an article for The Guardian, came as Corbyn addressed a Stop The War rally in London titled “No war in Ukraine – Stop NATO expansion.”
Starmer wrote: “Nobody wants war. At first glance, some on the left may be sympathetic to those siren voices who condemn NATO. But to condemn NATO is to condemn the guarantee of democracy and security it brings, and which our allies in eastern and central Europe are relying on, as the sabre-rattling from Moscow grows ever louder.
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“That’s why the likes of the Stop the War coalition are not benign voices for peace. At best they are naive; at worst they actively give succour to authoritarian leaders who directly threaten democracies.
“There is nothing progressive in showing solidarity with the aggressor when our allies need our solidarity and – crucially – our practical assistance, now more than ever. The kneejerk reflex, “Britain, Canada, the United States, France – wrong; their enemies – right”, is unthinking conservatism at its worst.
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“To truly stop war, you need to show you are serious about standing up for peace, that you are serious about keeping your promises to your friends, and that you will always stand up to those who threaten.”
The Labour leader added: “Moscow’s hard-line leadership won’t see a rally on the streets of Britain as a reason to pull its tanks from Ukraine’s borders. All it will see is naivety and weakness – virtue signallers in the west providing a smokescreen so it can go on beating up and jailing those brave individuals who dare to stand up to its despotism on the streets of Russia.”
Starmer said that under his leadership, “Labour’s commitment to Nato is unshakable”.
However, in an interview with the BBC during a visit to NATO HQ in Brussels, he was repeatedly asked why he sat on Corbyn’s frontbench as shadow Brexit secretary when he knew the then leader held strong anti-NATO views.
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Starmer said: “Jeremy Corbyn and I disagreed on many things. I was leading for our party on the Brexit negotiations, the difficult votes we had in Parliament, and it was very important that we had that lead at the time, that were very difficult, seems a long time ago.
“Very difficult discussions and decisions at the time, but does it mean I agree with Jeremy Corbyn on everything? Of course it doesn’t. He was leader of the party and I was leading on the Brexit negotiations.”
A bid by left-wing Labour officials to readmit Jeremy Corbyn as an MP has been rejected by the party’s ruling body.
A motion to restore the whip to Corbyn, who currently sits an independent, was defeated by 23 votes to 14 at a meeting of the party’s ruling National Executive Committee.
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Mr Corbyn said he was “very disappointed” by the result.
The motion, proposed by Fire Brigades Union chief Ian Murray, was considered at the “emotional” meeting, with one Corbyn supporter invoking the words of Martin Luther King when making their case.
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Yasmin Dar said: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
The EHRC found the party committed unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination while Corbyn was leader — but the former party leader said allegations about anti-Jewish racism on his watch had been “dramatically overstated” by his political opponents.
In a Facebook post after the report was published, Corbyn said he did not accept all of the EHRC’s conclusions.
“Anyone claiming there is no anti-Semitism in the Labour Party is wrong. Of course there is, as there is throughout society, and sometimes it is voiced by people who think of themselves as on the left,” he said.
“Jewish members of our party and the wider community were right to expect us to deal with it, and I regret that it took longer to deliver that change than it should.
“One anti-Semite is one too many, but the scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media.”
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The wording of the NEC motion, seen by HuffPost UK, said that continuing to withhold the whip from Corbyn was a “deeply divisive act by the leadership of the party and the chief whip.”
It claimed that Corbyn — who has been the MP for Islington North for nearly 40 years — had been “disbarred” from party processes to reselect sitting MPs ahead of the next election, “increasing the tension and anger amongst party members and moving us further from the unity that is required to take on this government”.
It continued: “Disbarring the sitting member of parliament from the process is extremely disrespectful to the people of Islington North who have overwhelmingly elected Jeremy Corbyn as their Labour MP for nearly four decades.
“Disbarring Jeremy Corbyn at the next general election brings with it the added danger of local electorate punishing the Labour Party, should they not have the candidate they wish in place, creating a huge media storm in the process.”
Supporters of Starmer hailed the 23-14 NEC vote, with one source telling HuffPost UK: “In NEC terms, that’s a landslide.”
But the leader’s opponents branded it “purely factional and not in the best interests of the party”.
One Labour source said it was “nauseating to see Jeremy Corbyn presented as a victim”, adding: “The only victims in this whole story are Jewish members who suffered anti-Semitism and were afraid of what a Labour government might mean for them.”
They told HuffPost UK: “This was a self inflicted defeat for Jeremy Corbyn supporters. They didn’t need to push a vote on this, but they did so knowing that Starmer has a solid majority on the NEC.
“The chief whip [Alan Campbell] made it very clear to the NEC why Corbyn is outside of the PLP: he needs to apologise for his comments on the day of the EHRC report, remove or edit his post about it and co-operate with the party in implementing the EHRC definition of anti-Semitism.
“He is choosing not to do any of these things and the moment and that is why he does not have the whip.”
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One left wing source hit out at the entire process. They claimed that a bid to request a meeting with key stakeholders after the vote was denied, making it “totally unaccountable”.
They also said the disquiet over the Facebook post was a “red herring”.
“This has become a factional war led by people who can’t bear that Jeremy was ever leader and want him politically dead.”
The NEC vote has reopened questions about Corbyn’s future and whether he can make any comeback in the Labour Party.
There has been speculation that he may choose to stand as an independent at the next election or even form a breakaway party of disaffected Labour MPs and members.
However, one pro-Corbyn source said there there is “hardly anyone who thinks that’s a good idea”.
Responding to the NEC result, Corbyn said: “I am very disappointed at the majority decision of today’s National Executive meeting.
“They had an opportunity to help restore unity in the Labour Party but unfortunately did not take it.
“I am very grateful for the support of 14 members of the NEC and of many, many people in my constituency of Islington North.
“The real issues facing this country are the horrific levels of social injustice, the attacks on our public services by the Government, and the falling living standards of many people. That should be the focus of the Labour Party.
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“I will continue to campaign for social justice in Britain, and peace and human rights around the world.”
Hundreds of far Left supporters of Jeremy Corbyn will be expelled from Labour within days after its ruling body agreed to ban four groups accused of promoting a “toxic culture” within the party.
The ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) decided on Tuesday to proscribe ‘Resist’ and ‘Labour Against the Witchhunt’, factions which both claim anti-Semitism allegations have been politically motivated.
‘Labour In Exile’, which actively welcomes expelled or suspended members, was banned. Another group, ‘Socialist Appeal’, which describes itself as Marxist, was also proscribed.
HuffPost UK understands that letters of “auto-exclusion”, informing members they have effectively expelled themselves by being members of any of the groups, will be sent by the end of this week.
The NEC approved the proscription with a big majority, insiders said.
Many of the members of the four factions were strong supporters of former leader Corbyn, who remains suspended from the party whip following his reaction to an equalities watchdog finding of institutional anti-Semitism.
The NEC also agreed to set up a new panel which would look assess whether other fringe groups operating within the party should also be proscribed.
The panel will be drawn from the Organisation Sub-Committee of the NEC, but insiders said that it would not operate as a “Star Chamber” because once it ruled which groups should be banned, expulsion was automatic.
In one concession to critics, it was agreed that the full NEC would have to ratify any decisions by the “Org Sub” committee.
As the lengthy NEC meeting took place, members of the far-Left groups and others – including Corbyn’s brother Piers – demonstrated outside Labour’s HQ in London.
Grassroots group Momentum and Unite the union had both warned that the attempt to “purge” the groups was an act of “machismo” that was unnecessary.
And former shadow chancellor John McDonnell had tweeted that it was a “standard Blairite” tactic to try and show how strong a leader Starmer was.
Standard Blairite fare to try show how strong a leader you are by taking on your own party but bizarre to do it by expelling people, most of whom have left already. Looks desperate when what is needed is restoration of whip to Jeremy Corbyn, publication of Ford & taking on Tories
— John McDonnell MP (@johnmcdonnellMP) July 17, 2021
Corbyn too had expressed strong opposition to the plan.
Today’s proposals to the Labour NEC are divisive and raise the threat of further future attacks on party democracy.
Now is the time when all of our energy should be concentrated against the Tories and in campaigning for people’s health, jobs and livelihoods. https://t.co/o30OuiIDda
But one member of the NEC told HuffPost UK that the move was “morally important” because members of the groups had supported those who had been expelled for anti-Semitism.
‘Socialist Appeal’ has also been described as an “entryist” group and some MPs believe its expulsion had echos of the booting out of Militant under Neil Kinnock in the 1980s.
The margins of the proscription votes on the NEC underlined the strength of support Starmer now has on the ruling body, with two-to-one majorities for most of them.
The narrowest vote was to ban ‘Socialist Appeal’, by a margin of 20 votes to 12.
JUSTIN TALLIS via Getty ImagesFormer number 10 special advisor Dominic Cummings leaves Parliament after giving evidence to a Parliamentary committee hearing in London on May 26, 2021. –
Boris Johnson has been left licking his wounds after Dominic Cummings dropped bombshell upon bombshell on the prime minister over his handling of Covid.
Amidst all this, you may have missed some other important news.
Let’s get you caught up with some of today’s other headlines.
1, The Hillsborough trial collapsed
AFP Contributor via Getty ImagesRetired police officer Donald Denton leaves court
Two retired police officers and an ex-solicitor accused of altering police statements after the Hillsborough disaster have been acquitted.
The trial against Donald Denton, 83, retired detective chief inspector Alan Foster, 74, and solicitor Peter Metcalf, 71, collapsed on Wednesday after a judge ruled there was no case to answer.
The three men denied charges of perverting the course of justice after it was alleged they tried to minimise the blame on South Yorkshire Police.
Mr Justice William Davis said the amended statements were intended for a public inquiry into safety at sports grounds, however, and that as such it was not a course of public justice.
Ninety-six Liverpool fans died as a result of the crush at the FA Cup semi-final match at Sheffield Wednesday’s ground on 15 April 1989.
Margaret Aspinall, whose son James was among them, said the ruling was “an absolute mockery” and a “shambles”.
“We’re always the losers no matter what the outcome today,” she said.
2, Raab met Israeli and Palestinian leaders for peace talks
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met this afternoon, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, with British Foreign Secretary @DominicRaab.
Dominic Raab met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas as he reiterated the UK supports a two-state solution in the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The foreign secretary called for a “lasting peace” on Wednesday and visited both Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories following last week’s ceasefire.
The ceasefire was declared on Friday after 11 days of fighting killed more than 250 people, the vast majority in Gaza, in what was the worst violence in the conflict since 2014.
Raab tweeted: “Vital we make progress towards a more positive future for Israelis and Palestinians.”
3, Five arrested after Black Lives Matter activist shot
Guy Smallman via Getty Images Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson
Five men have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder over the shooting of black equal rights activist Sasha Johnson.
The 27-year-old Oxford graduate is fighting for her life in hospital after being injured at a party in Peckham, south-east London in the early hours of Sunday.
The Metropolitan Police said that officers detained three teenagers and two older men on suspicion of other offences, before they were all also arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The first suspect, a 17-year-old boy, was held on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and drug dealing on Tuesday afternoon.
Police then raided an address in Peckham where they arrested three men – aged 18, 19 and 28 – on suspicion of affray and possession with intent to supply class B drugs.
A fifth man, aged 25, was arrested later that evening following a car chase, also in Peckham, on suspicion of affray and failing to stop for police.
All five have also since been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
4, Disgraced MP Rob Roberts avoids by-election
MP Rob RobertsMP Rob Roberts
Disgraced MP Rob Roberts may escape a by-election despite breaching sexual misconduct rules.
The MP for Delyn faces being suspended from the Commons for six weeks after repeated unwanted advances to a member of staff during which asked him to be “less alluring”.
Roberts has been stripped of the Tory whip but the way recall laws are drawn up means he cannot face the prospect of losing his seat.
The sanction was proposed by the panel set up in 2020 to deal with cases raised under the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme.
But the Recall of Parliament Act was passed in 2015 and only allows the prospect of a by-election for sanctions imposed on the recommendation of the Commons Committee on Standards.
House of Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg will invite the “relevant bodies” to consider whether the laws need to be changed to enable the recall process to be triggered.
MPs need to approve the six-week suspension.
5, SNP in talks with Scottish Greens over ‘formal’ government
WPA Pool via Getty ImagesScottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon has revealed her SNP government is in talks with the Scottish Greens over a formal co-operation agreement.
The first minister has said that by working together the two parties “can help build a better future for Scotland” as she set out her priorities following the SNP victory in the Holyrood election earlier this month.
She stressed discussions between the two parties – which are being supported by the civil service – will continue over the coming weeks, and said it is “not inconceivable” that they could see Green MSPs joining the SNP in the Scottish Government.
Both parties support the case for Scottish independence.
6, ‘Super mutant’ virus fears
fotograzia via Getty ImagesSemi Transparent Viruses
Coronavirus is going to do “weird” things going forward, and “super mutant viruses” may emerge, an expert has warned.
Professor Ravi Gupta, professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Cambridge, said that while this would not necessarily be a bad thing, the virus would try to become more efficient at transmission as more people are protected.
He added that coronavirus is unpredictable and we should not be overconfident at any stage.
Asked about how to prepare for future variants, Gupta told a press briefing: “I think that we have good vaccines, now we need to keep the pressure on vaccine designers, manufacturers to adapt vaccines.”
He added: “Secondly, the virus is going to do some weird things. I mean, this is just the beginning.
“I think it’s going to recombine, you’re going to get super mutant viruses, I believe.
“But that’s not not necessarily a terrible thing, but the virus is going to do very unexpected things because the amount of pressure on it is going to be severe, so it will adapt.
7, Chris Grayling makes plea over ‘tragic’ decline of hedgehogs
picture alliance via Getty ImagesA hedgehog
Former Tory cabinet minister Christ Grayling has urged the government to do more to stop the decline of hedgehogs
The Epsom and Ewell MP said the “catastrophic loss” of the small, spiky mammals was due to a mixture of habitat loss, the reduction of wildlife and protections available.
Speaking in a Commons debate on the Environment Bill, he said: “It is tragic, back in the 1950s there was something like 30 million hedgehogs in this country, now it’s estimated to be about 1.5 million, that is a catastrophic loss.”
“When I was a child, hedgehogs were around in the garden all the time, I have never as an adult seen a hedgehog in my garden or anywhere near it, this is a tragic loss and one we have to work to reverse.”
Too many species he said had declined in numbers, adding “we should be protecting them all”.
Saying hedgehog numbers had declined by 95% in recent years, he asked the government to address “shortcomings” in current legislation, adding: “I hope we’ll all be hedgehog champions going forwards and I’d say to the minister we’re going to be holding her feet to the fire to make sure her department delivers.”
8, It’s Jeremy Corbyn’s birthday
NurPhoto via Getty ImagesJeremy Corbyn
And finally … Jeremy Corbyn is celebrating his 72th birthday.
The former Labour leader shows no sign of slowing down campaigning, however, as he plans on celebrating the milestone with an online event entitled ‘Happy Birthday Jeremy – Restore the Whip’.
Corbyn sits as an independent MP after his successor Keir Starmer suspended him from the Parliamentary Labour Party following his claim that anti-Semitism in the party on his watch had been “overstated” by his opponents.
He remains a member of the Labour Party, however.
At the event will be comedian Alexei Sayle, as well as a number of left-wing MPs, including Richard Burgon and Zarah Saltana.
There were no well wishes from Dominic Cummings, however, who told MPs as part of his marathon evidence session: “There’s a very profound question in the nature of our political system, any system that leaves people with the choice between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn is obviously a system that’s gone extremely badly wrong.”
Aaron Chown – PA Images via Getty ImagesHoward Beckett, assistant general secretary of Unite, is among those vying to replace Len McCluskey
This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Bob Crow, the late boss of the RMT transport union, was undoubtedly a controversial figure.
London commuters late for work due to seemingly endless Tube strikes would curse his name. Politicians and journalists who clashed with the left-wing firebrand would call him a “dinosaur” or, owing to his whopping £142,000 salary, a “champagne socialist”.
But when Crow died suddenly in 2014, it was notable how tributes came from not just those sympathetic to left-wing politics but from across the political spectrum.
Even Boris Johnson, then the Tory mayor of London, recognised Crow “fought tirelessly” for better pay and conditions and that he thought his former foe “a man of character”.
Obviously, no self-respecting union leader would want to be seen getting too cosy with Conservative politicians.
But how Crow was regarded in the political sphere stands in sharp contrast to Howard Beckett, one of the candidates to replace Len McCluskey as general secretary of Unite.
Keir Starmer moved to suspend him from the Labour Party for saying home secretary Priti Patel, a British-born minister of Indian heritage, “should be deported”.
Beckett apologised to Patel but remained defiant during an interview with Sky News on Friday, refusing to withdraw from the Unite race and saying his suspension was “completely inappropriate”.
He added he did not “literally” mean the minister should be deported and was “sorry if” that was not clear to those that read his hastily-deleted tweet.
While the assistant general secretary claimed he had not been informed of a suspension, Labour sources insist an email was sent and his union informed.
Unite, meanwhile, does not appear to have taken any action, telling HuffPost UK he “has correctly and unreservedly apologised”, while offering no further comment.
Beckett’s is the just the latest in a long line of bad headlines and divisive interventions from union chiefs in the seven years since Crow’s death.
And many of them have targeted not the Conservatives, but Labour.
McCluskey accused former deputy leader Tom Watson “sharpening his knife looking for a back to stab” and said Starmer faces the “dustbin of history” if he does not change direction.
The FBU’s Matt Wrack has hit out at Starmer for “watering down” policies and Labour MPs for undermining former leader Jeremy Corbyn.
TSSA boss Manuel Cortes repeatedly went public to hit out at Corbyn for Labour’s “Brexit fudge” when the party was in turmoil over its policy on a second referendum in 2018.
Former GMB general secretary Tim Roache stood down last year citing ill health and has faced claims of impropriety, which he denies. Separately, an independent report found the union to be institutionally sexist.
In the minds of voters, all this friendly fire points to more left-wing division and Labour leaders not in control of their party’s agenda.
Fresh elections this year for the leadership of Unite and GMB follow Christina McAnea’s election as the first female general secretary of Unison in January.
With Peter Mandelson calling for union reform, these races are just as important for Starmer’s Labour Party, if not more, than any parliamentary by-election.
A new era of Labour blood-letting and a “war of the roses” between MPs and the union movement splashed across every newspaper is not likely to boost the electoral hopes of Corbyn’s successor.
Though said to be “McCluskey’s right hand man”, Beckett is unlikely to emerge victorious in the Unite race, however. Some believe he may struggle to even make the ballot.
Does the former Director of Public Prosecutions have the charisma to match Boris Johnson? Could anyone realistically do better against a government spending lots of money and successfully vaccinating its population against a deadly pandemic?
As many wrestle these questions and more, one man has an answer: Time for Blair.
That’s the simple solution proposed by Andrew Adonis, the former Labour Cabinet minister in the 2000s who now sits in the House of Lords.
The proposition on its surface is pretty simple: bring back the man who steered Labour to a hat-trick of general elections, a man with a proven track record of success.
And he boiled it down to just three words. And used it again.
More than 70 MPs as well as peers from the House of Lords have launched a campaign claiming coronavirus vaccine passports would be “divisive and discriminatory”.
The cross-party opposition includes 40 Tories and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
A pledge has been signed by Conservative former leader Sir Iain Duncan-Smith, Labour former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and ex-Lib Dem leader Tim Farron.
It has also been backed by a string of Tory former ministers including Esther McVey, Nus Ghani, Mark Harper and Harriett Baldwin.
Former shadow attorney general Baroness Shami Chakrabarti said the scheme would be “dangerous, discriminatory and counter-productive”.
The government has insisted no final decisions have been taken on whether Covid-status certification could play a role in reopening the economy.
It comes as a report in The Daily Telegraph suggested a series of pilot tests for certificates were being planned, which could include the FA Cup final and other sporting events in May.
Boris Johnson has defended the idea and suggested a certificate could give “maximum confidence” to businesses and customers as society reopens.
Any scheme is likely to go beyond just showing whether someone has had a vaccine – as jabs are not mandatory – covering whether they have had Covid-19, and so are likely to have antibodies, or if they have a negative recent test.
Baroness Chakrabarti, the former director of human rights organisation Liberty, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s dangerous, it’s discriminatory, it’s counter-productive.”
The Labour peer warned that using coronavirus certificates could create a “checkpoint Britain” as she urged for the country to “open up together” as restrictions ease.
“It’s one thing to have a passport to travel internationally, that is a privilege, even a luxury, but participating in local community life is a fundamental right,” she added.
The group’s pledge has been backed by Big Brother Watch, Liberty, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) and Privacy International.
Senior Tory MP Sir Graham Brady, who is also a signatory to the pledge, which has been backed by a string of Conservative former ministers, insisted the aim should be to return to normal life.
The chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs said: “Covid-status certification would be divisive and discriminatory.
“With high levels of vaccination protecting the vulnerable and making transmission less likely, we should aim to return to normal life, not to put permanent restrictions in place.”
Earlier this week, Labour leader Keir Starmer indicated there could be opposition to the move among the public if death rates are near zero and hospital admissions are very low.
A government spokeswoman said: “The review is considering a range of issues, including the ethical, equalities, privacy, legal and operational aspects, and what limits, if any, should be placed on organisations using certification.”
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said that introducing vaccine passports could potentially “scupper things” for hospitality venues which are trying to reopen.
On the possible use of coronavirus certificates, she told BBC Breakfast: “This would be an additional burden put on to the pubs. We are desperate to get back open again. We are desperate to do that.
“We will play our part in test and trace but the additional burden of the vaccine passport could really, really scupper things.
“It is a difficult process for us to implement in venues and yet today we have not had a consultation with the government about how we would do this in pubs.”
The Unite union general secretary said voters “don’t understand” what Labour stands for anymore.
In an interview with Times Radio on Sunday, McCluskey, who was a close ally of Jeremy Corbyn, said Starmer was on course to “destroy the unity of the party”.
McCluskey also said the selection process led to the selection of Paul Williams as Labour’s candidate for the Hartlepool by-election “beggars belief”.
Williams chosen to stand in the seat after he was the only person placed on the shortlist of candidates.
In the interview, McCluskey said: “Keir needs to start telling people what he is and what Labour are. People don’t know at the moment.
“People knew where Jeremy Corbyn was coming from long before any elections.
“People knew where Tony Blair was coming from long before any elections.
“At the moment we are suffering because people don’t understand what Keir Starmer stands for or what Labour stands for. And that’s what he has to do.
“Stick to the radical nature of the policies he stood on and win back the red wall seats.
“If he continues to attack the democracy in the left of the party he’ll destroy the unity of the party and the reality will be he’ll be dumped into the dustbin of history.”
Speaking about the upcoming Hartlepool by-election, McCluskey said: “If that’s Keir’s definition of democracy well it’s certainly not mine. It’s not even a pretence any more.
“A shortlist – actually it was a longlist – of one man. It beggars belief. But at the moment in terms of the internal democracy within our party. Nothing is surprising.
“I regret the fact that a proper process wouldn’t have been gone through.”
The by-election in the so-called red wall seat was triggered after incumbent Labour MP Mike Hill resigned this week amid sexual harassment allegations.
The contest will be seen a key test for Starmer’s leadership, one year after he succeeded Corbyn at the top of the party.
Boris Johnson made advances into traditional Labour territory in the North of England, Midlands and north Wales during the general election in December 2019, in which he secured a Conservative majority victory.
One of the seats taken as part of the host of red-to-blue turnovers in the North East was Williams’ former Stockton South seat.
Williams has apologised after a Tweet of his from 2011 was unearthed in which he asked his followers: “Do you have a favourite Tory milf?”
Shami Chakrabarti, the former shadow attorney general under Corbyn, has said the “unacceptable misogynistic” language means Williams should be dumped as the candidate.
But speaking to the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Lisa Nandy, the shadow foreign secretary, agreed while the language was “completely and utterly unacceptable”, as Williams had apologised he should not have to step down.
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