Len McCluskey threatens to remove funding from Labour over anti-Semitism payouts

Len McCluskey, the leader of the Unite union, has warned Sir Keir Starmer he cannot take its money for granted after a decision to offer payouts to whistleblowers who accused the party of failing to tackle anti-Semitism.

Mr McCluskey,  the union’s general secretary, on Sunday warned Unite would review its funding of the Labour Party and called the payouts "an abuse of members' money".

Labour agreed to pay "substantial damages" to whistleblowers who contributed to a TV expose of its handling of anti-Semitism, but Mr McCluskey said “a lot” of the funds came from his union.

“I'm already being asked all kinds of questions by my executive,” he told the Observer.

"It's as though a huge sign has been put up outside the Labour party with 'queue here with your writ and get your payment over there'."

Under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, the party was dogged with allegations that it had failed to take action against anti-Semitism by its members.

Seven former employees from the party's governance and legal unit, who were responsible for the investigation of allegations of misconduct by party members, sued Labour after it issued a press release describing them as having "personal and political axes to grind".

The legal action followed the broadcast in July 2019 of a BBC Panorama programme titled “Is Labour Anti-Semitic?”.

The Telegraph has previously revealed that fees and damages were likely to amount to nearly £375,000, but Labour has refused to confirm the value of the payments.

Sir Keir's predecessor Mr Corbyn called the decision to settle "disappointing" and claimed it was a "political decision, not a legal one".

Mr Corybn said his team was advised while he was leader that the "party had a strong defence".

Labour declined to comment on Mr McCluskey's donation review threat, but Sir Keir's spokesman previously said all three candidates in the final of the party's leadership contest, which concluded in April, had agreed they wanted to see the case settled.

Mr McCluskey, a Corbyn ally, also said it would "constitute a problem" for Unite if Sir Keir moved away from his leadership campaign pledges.

His position included keeping left-wing policies adopted during the Corbyn regime, such as higher taxes on the wealthy, abolishing tuition fees and public ownership of rail, mail, energy and water.

Mr McCluskey said: "He has to recognise that the ship he is sailing, if it lists too much to the right, will go under.”