Terms of reference set by Labour NEC for investigation into leaked report – full text

Labour’s ruling national executive committee last week agreed the terms of reference for the independent investigation announced by the leadership into the recently leaked report.

As NEC members used the meeting to amend the terms put forward by Keir Starmer, these changes had to be made to the text before it could be released more widely.

Newly elected local party representative Johanna Baxter included the full text in her first NEC report since being chosen by Labour members to sit on the ruling body at the beginning of April.

The NEC decided that the scope of the inquiry will cover the allegations in the report, its commissioning and how it was put into the public domain despite containing personal data.

The independent investigation will also look into the “structure, culture and practices” of the party, and the panel will be allowed to make recommendations where considered appropriate.

The probe will be led by an independent investigator, whose identity is as yet unknown. It will conclude with its own report, which Labour has said should be published by mid-July.

Below is the full text of the terms of reference as amended and agreed by the NEC.

The panel shall investigate and report on: 

1. The truth or otherwise of the main allegations in the report (the panel shall determine which are the most significant allegations which require investigation but they shall include the extent of racist, sexist and other discriminatory culture within Labour Party workplaces, the attitudes and conduct of the senior staff of the Labour Party, and their relationships with the elected leadership of the Labour Party); 
2. The background and circumstances in which the report was commissioned, written and circulated within the Labour Party, with its advisers and any other individuals external to the Labour Party, including the question of the purpose for which the report was commissioned and prepared, and the circumstances in which the report was put into the public domain; and 
3. The structure, culture and practices of the Labour Party organisation including the relationship between senior party staff and the elected leadership of the Labour Party, as the panel think appropriate having regard to their investigation as a whole.

And the panel shall make such recommendations as it considers appropriate concerning the organisation and structures of the Labour Party, arising out of its investigation, recognising that Labour Party structures are covered in rule.

This document was approved by a meeting of the national executive committee of the Labour Party held on 23 April 2020.