Luciana Berger rejoins Labour after leaving over antisemitism under Jeremy Corbyn
A former Labour MP who left the party four years ago over antisemitism under Jeremy Corbyn has rejoined.
Luciana Berger, who is Jewish, quit the party in February 2019, saying she could not “remain in a party that I have today come to the sickening conclusion is institutionally antisemitic”.
But Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer revealed Ms Berger, the Liverpool Wavertree MP from 2010 to 2019, had accepted his invitation to rejoin Labour.
“My test for change was whether those who were rightly appalled by how far we had fallen believe this is their party again,” he tweeted.
“I know we’ve more to do but we’re unrecognisable from the party that forced her out.”
Sir Keir shared images of the letter he had sent to Ms Berger apologising to her “again on behalf of the whole party” for the “disgusting” antisemitic abuse she received while Mr Corbyn was leader.
He said she had been “forced out by intimidation, thuggery and racism” in a “stain on Labour’s history” and invited her back to the party.
Ms Berger lost her seat after joining the fledgling party Change UK, then later the Liberal Democrats.
In her reply to Sir Keir, Ms Berger said: “I am looking forward to rejoining the party and working with you to continue what you have started.
“It is time to replace this reckless and divisive government and ultimately make the difference our country so desperately deserves.”
Labour ‘fell into the depths of the abyss’ under Corbyn
Ms Berger said she was “pleased” with the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s decision to no longer monitor the party over antisemitism, but added: “As you [Sir Keir] have rightly said, this is not a moment for celebration and there is a great deal more to do.”
She claimed the party “fell into the depths of the abyss under Jeremy Corbyn’s reign”.
“I never expected to bear witness to the volume and toxicity of anti-Jewish racism espoused by people who had been allowed to join Labour, and to experience a leadership that treated antisemitism within the party’s ranks differently to every other kind of racism – and that by refusing to condemn it, encouraged it,” she said.
“But that is exactly what happened.”
Sir Keir wrote: “Before you were forced out of the party, you were an outstanding Member of Parliament.”
He said the party and British politics are “poorer places” without her, and apologised to her for the “intolerable and unacceptable” experience she had.
“The abuse you suffered was disgusting. You were left isolated and exposed. Shamefully, those who should have defended you stood by.
“The Labour Party – our party – has always prided itself on being a party of equality, collectivism, solidarity and anti-racism.
“But during those dark days we were none of those things.”
Her return was applauded by several from the party hierarchy, including shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves who tweeted: “So pleased to have you back, Luciana.”
Peter Kyle, the party’s Northern Ireland spokesman, tweeted: “An emotional and healing moment. The Labour Party and Luciana…friends finally reunited. I’m grateful to @Keir_Starmer for making this possible, and in awe of @lucianaberger’s strength and compassion for giving us this precious second chance. Labour has changed for the better.”
Margaret Hodge, another of Labour’s critics of Mr Corbyn, said on Twitter: “Welcome back Luciana! It’s so important that those who were pushed out of the Labour Party because of vile antisemitism now feel able to return to their political home. We’ve come so far. Labour is proudly an outward looking, tolerant & inclusive party once again.”
Jewish Labour Movement added: “Our former Parliamentary Chair @lucianaberger is a hero of the Labour Movement. What happened to her under Corbyn’s leadership was a disgrace and she showed immense bravery. That she feels now is the time to rejoin shows the party is on the right track.”
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‘Jeremy Corbyn will not stand for Labour’
Starmer rules out Corbyn standing for Labour at next election
Marking the EHRC’s decision to no longer monitor the party for antisemitism, Sir Keir ruled out allowing Jeremy Corbyn to stand as a Labour candidate in the next general election.
The human rights watchdog in 2020 found the party broke equality law over its handling of antisemitic complaints.
Mr Corbyn rejected some of the report’s findings and claimed the issue had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons” – comments which led to Labour’s headquarters suspending him from the party.
Ms Berger joined the board of online used-car retailer Cazoo in August 2021 as chair of its environmental, social and governance (ESG) committee.
World
Ukrainian frontline commander warns: ‘The world is scared of Russia and losing is not only our problem’
In the courtyard of a farmhouse now home to soldiers of the Ukrainian army’s 47th mechanised brigade, I’m introduced to a weary-looking unit by their commander Captain Oleksandr “Sasha” Shyrshyn.
We are about 10km from the border with Russia, and beyond it lies the Kursk region Ukraine invaded in the summer – and where this battalion is now fighting.
The 47th is a crack fighting assault unit.
They’ve been brought to this area from the fierce battles in the country’s eastern Donbas region to bolster Ukrainian forces already here.
War latest: Russia ready to carry out ‘massive attack’
The captain known by his men as ‘Genius’
In the summer, Ukraine launched an incursion into Russian territory, in Kursk
Captain Shyrshyn explains that among the many shortages the military has to deal with, the lack of infantry is becoming a critical problem.
Sasha is just 30 years old, but he is worldly-wise. He used to run an organisation helping children in the country’s east before donning his uniform and going to war.
He is famous in Ukraine and is regarded as one of the country’s top field commanders, who isn’t afraid to express his views on the war and how it’s being waged.
His nom de guerre is ‘Genius’, a nickname given to him by his men.
Captain Sasha Shyrshyn and Sky News chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay
‘Don’t worry, it’s not a minefield’
Sasha invited me to see one of the American Bradley fighting vehicles his unit uses.
We walk down a muddy lane before he says it’s best to go cross-country.
“We can go that way, don’t worry it’s not a minefield,” he jokes.
He leads us across a muddy field and into a forest where the vehicle is hidden from Russian surveillance drones that try to hunt both American vehicles and commanders.
Sasha shows me a picture of the house they had been staying in only days before – it was now completely destroyed after a missile strike.
Fortunately, neither he, nor any of his men, were there at the time.
“They target commanders,” he says with a smirk.
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‘The world is scared of Russia’
It takes me a moment or two to realise we are only a few steps away from the Bradley, dug in and well hidden beneath the trees.
The disguised American Bradley vehicle hidden in the forest
Sasha tells me the Bradley is the finest vehicle he has ever used.
A vehicle so good, he says, it’s keeping the Ukrainian army going in the face of Russia’s overwhelming numbers of soldiers.
He explains: “Almost all our work on the battlefield is cooperation infantry with the Bradley. So we use it for evacuations, for moving people from one place to another, as well as for fire-covering.
“This vehicle is very safe and has very good characteristics.”
The American Bradley fighting vehicle that Ukrainian soldiers have found vital in their efforts
Billions of dollars in military aid has been given to Ukraine by the United States, and this vehicle is one of the most valuable assets the US has provided.
Ukraine is running low on men to fight, and the weaponry it has is not enough, especially if it can’t fire long-range missiles into Russia itself – which it is currently not allowed to do.
If President-elect Donald Trump cuts the supply of military aid, the Ukrainians will lose – it’s that simple.
US President-elect Donald Trump has been clear he intends to change his nation’s policy on the war in Ukraine. Pic: Reuters
Sasha says: “We have a lack of weapons, we have a lack of artillery, we have a lack of infantry, and as the world doesn’t care about justice, and they don’t want to finish the war by our win, they are afraid of Russia.
“I’m sorry but they’re scared, they’re scared, and it’s not the right way.”
Like pretty much everyone in Ukraine, Sasha is waiting to see what the US election result will mean for his country.
He is sceptical about a deal with Russia.
“Our enemy only understands the language of power. And you cannot finish the war in 24 hours, or during the year without hard decisions, without a fight, so it’s impossible. It’s just talking without results,” he tells me.
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‘Losing will be not only our problem’
These men expect the fierce battles inside Kursk to intensify in the coming days.
Indeed, alongside the main supply route into Kursk, workers are already building new defensive positions – unfurling miles of razor wire and digging bunkers for the Ukrainian army if it finds itself in retreat.
Barbed wire rolled out in the Sumy region ahead of expected fighting
Tank traps in the Sumy region
Sasha and his men are realistic about support fatigue from the outside world but will keep fighting to the last if they have to.
“I understand this is only our problem, it’s only our issue, and we have to fight this battle, like we have to defend ourselves, it’s our responsibility,” Sasha said.
But he points out everyone should realise just how critical this moment in time is.
“If we look at it widely, we have to understand that us losing will be not only our problem, but it will be for all the world.”
Stuart Ramsay reports from northeastern Ukraine with camera operator Toby Nash, and producers Dominique Van Heerden, Azad Safarov, and Nick Davenport.
A weather warning has been issued for parts of Spain, as the country counts the cost of recent flooding.
The orange warnings are in place for parts of southwestern Spain – the area around Seville down towards Gibraltar.
Up to 8cm (3ins) of rain could fall within 12 hours, but the weekend looks much more settled in the country.
The latest warnings come just two weeks after flash flooding in Valencia and other parts of the country killed more than 200 people.
Malaga saw 14.2cm (5.6ins) of rainfall on Wednesday – Spain’s highest of the day – most of which fell in six hours.
All train services were halted in Malaga. Some flights have now resumed after the initial disruption.
Pic: Jamie Marchant
Emergency services in the province have moved 3,000 people from homes at risk of flooding close to the Guadalhorce River in the west of the city.
Jamie Marchant, 29, from Caerphilly in South Wales travelled to Malaga last Wednesday.
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He told Sky News that “debris” had been left behind by the recent rainfall in the region.
“Everyone is pitching in to clean up and some shops are opening as usual,” he added.
Orange warnings for the Valencia region in eastern Spain expired earlier on Thursday.
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The adverse weather could lead to total insured losses of more than €4bn (£3.33bn), according to credit rating agency Morningstar DBRS.
Much of the claims are expected to be covered by the Spanish government’s insurance pool, the agency said, but insurance premiums are likely to increase.
A necklace believed to contain jewels from the infamous Marie Antoinette “Affair of the Diamond Necklace” has been sold for £3.7m.
Set with nearly 500 diamonds and weighing about 300 carats, it smashed price expectations at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva.
The Marchioness of Anglesey wore it at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, and it was also worn 16 years earlier at King George VI’s crowning.
However, the link to Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, may have been the most intriguing selling point for the mystery buyer.
Some of the jewels are believed to have been at the centre of the Affair of the Diamond Necklace – a scandal which is said to have paved the way for Antoinette’s eventual downfall.
The scandal erupted when a hard-up noblewoman, Jeanne de la Motte, pretended to be the queen and acquired a hugely expensive necklace in her name without paying.
An undated portrait of Marie Antoinette. (AP Photo)
Antoinette, who was accused of having a hand in the scam, was acquitted in a trial. But the affair discredited her further in the eyes of the French people – among whom she was already deeply unpopular.
Her reputation never recovered, her public appearances all but ceased, and the number of pamphlets containing malicious gossip about her increased.
It also added to her reputation for extravagance that helped fuel the French Revolution – with the queen beheaded in 1793.
Pic: Reuters
Jewels from the original necklace – which contained nearly 650 diamonds and weighed almost 2,800 carats – were
later sold on the black market, making them hard to trace.
However, a Bond Street jeweller testified at the time that he bought about 350 of them for just over £10,000, according to Sotheby’s.
Experts say the quality and age of the diamonds in the necklace sold on Wednesday point to a match.
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“It’s likely or possible that some of these diamonds may have come from the famous diamond necklace that led to the downfall of Marie Antoinette,” said Jessica Wyndham, Sotheby’s head of magnificent jewels.
The Georgian-era piece measures 67cm and hadn’t been seen in public for 50 years before it came up for sale.
Its final sale price of over 4.2 million Swiss francs was double its pre-auction valuation.
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