A leaked Labour report on how complaints about antisemitism were handled falsely claims that a Lewisham councillor was suspended from the Party.  

The 860-page internal report, seen by the local democracy reporting service, includes thousands of emails and private WhatsApp messages from Labour officials between 2014 and 2019, which appear to show that anti-Jeremy Corbyn sentiment thwarted efforts to tackle antisemitism within the party.  

Cllr Silvana Kelleher was elected to Lewisham Council in May 2018.

Her name, with a reference to her as a council candidate, is listed under ‘other suspensions’ following a paragraph in the dossier that refers to “extreme antisemitism cases”.  

But although the Labour Party declined to comment on an individual case, the LDRS understands that Cllr Kelleher, who represents the Evelyn ward, has never been suspended from the Party.

Cllr Kelleher, who had tweeted that she was “horrified” by other details in the report, said she was “extremely surprised and upset” to see her name in it.  

She said: “I vehemently refute any allegation of antisemitism against me.  

“I was extremely surprised and upset to learn that my name is on a list of Labour members subject to suspension included in the leaked internal Labour Party report.  

“I must set the record straight – I have never been suspended as a Labour Party member, nor have I ever received notice from the Labour Party that they were investigating any complaint against me.” 

A spokesperson for Lewisham Labour Group of Councillors said antisemitism would not be tolerated.  

He said: “We will not tolerate any antisemitic behaviour and would deal with any allegations very seriously.  

“We are not aware of any investigation by the Labour Party into complaints against Cllr Silvana Kelleher.” 

The new Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer announced an “urgent independent investigation” into the leaked dossier this week.  

The probe will look at how the report was commissioned, its contents, and how it was released into the public domain.