Britain’s Labour party has dropped a case against five former staff who were accused of leaking an internal report four years ago.
The Financial Times revealed last October that the party had spent £1.4mn on legal fees in its case against the former employees, including Jeremy Corbyn’s former director of communications Seamus Milne.
The individuals denied leaking the report by the party’s governance and legal unit into the handling of antisemitism and Islamophobia complaints inside the party and the impact of factionalism on disciplinary processes.
They had faced legal costs of over £1mn if the case had gone to trial. A statement from their law firm, Carter Ruck, said: “The party is discontinuing its legal claims against Karie Murphy, Seumas Milne, Georgie Robertson, Harry Hayball and Laura Murray on a ‘no order as to costs’ basis. The five welcome the resolution of the claims.”
Labour confirmed that the case had been dropped.