WATCH: Dodds on need for independent review into leaked report

Anneliese Dodds has said that an “independent review” is needed to look into the antisemitism report leaked over the weekend to make sure that the behaviour described “never ever happens again”.

In an interview with Sky News this morning, the new Shadow Chancellor said that it was “absolutely right” for Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner to commit to an investigation in response to the release of the dossier.

The newly appointed member of Labour’s shadow frontbench emphasised the need for any investigation to be independent, so that it is “trusted across the board”.

Dodds said: “That kind of thing is clearly deeply, deeply unpleasant, and that’s why we need to have an independent review to understand what happened and to deal with it and to above all make sure it never ever happens again.

“The Labour Party has got 580,000 members. If there are cases where staff have behaved inappropriately, all of those members are being let down.

“And ultimately we need to have a strong opposition, so the health of our democracy isn’t being supported either. This needs to be dealt with. That’s why there’s got to be an independent review.”

The internal report claims to offer accounts of mishandling of disciplinary cases by Labour Party staff, as well as a poor relationship between Jeremy Corbyn’s office and the party’s headquarters before Jennie Formby became general secretary.

Following the leaking of the 851-page document, Starmer and Rayner committed to commissioning an “urgent independent investigation” into the background, the content and the way in which the report has been released into the public domain.