Len McCluskey threatens to cut Unite funding to Labour over anti-Semitism payouts
Leader of party’s biggest donor calls whistle-blower settlements an ‘abuse of members’ money’

The head of Labour’s biggest union backer has ordered a review of its donations to the party following Keir Starmer’s decision to pay damages to former staff who became anti-Semitism whistle-blowers.
The party agreed in the High Court last month to pay undisclosed six-figure settlements for making “false and defamatory” comments about seven ex-employees who spoke out last year in a BBC Panorama documentary titled Is Labour Anti-Semitic?, The Telegraph reports.
But Len McCluskey claims that “a lot” of the funds used to pay the settlements came from Unite. “It’s an abuse of members’ money,” McCluskey told The Observer this weekend.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“I’m already being asked all kinds of questions by my executive. It’s as though a huge sign has been put up outside the Labour Party with ‘queue here with your writ and get your payment over there’.”
He added that Starmer should not to “take for granted” continued funding from Unite, which gave Labour almost £6m last year, and warned that the party could “go under” if it steers too far to the right.
McCluskey has been praised by left-leaning Labour MPs for ordering the funding review, reports The Guardian. “Len said what a lot of us have been thinking,” said an unnamed politician.
The union chief is a close ally of former Labour boss Jeremy Corbyn, who claims that his team was advised while he was in charge that the “party had a strong defence” against the complainants.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
However, according to The Telegraph’s political correspondent Harry Yorke, Corbyn has been accused of “unleashing a wave of legal claims against Labour that threaten to leave the party at risk of bankruptcy” as a result of his handling of anti-Semitism allegations.
Yorke has reported that Labour is facing “at least 40 further civil claims”, many of which relate to a leaked internal report compiled during the last few months of Corbyn’s leadership that “included allegations over the conduct of former Labour Party officials and named complainants in anti-Semitism cases”.
Corbyn’s criticism of Starmer’s decision to pay damages to the anti-Semitism whistle-blowers has reportedly further “infuriated Jewish campaigners” and prompted new legel claims against the former Labour leader and the party.
Mark Lewis, the libel lawyer who represented Panorama journalist John Ware and the former Labour officials, confirmed last month that he had been instructed by 32 people to take action over the leaked report.
-
Why is this government shutdown so consequential?
Today's Big Question Federal employee layoffs could be in the thousands
-
Lavender marriage grows in generational appeal
In the spotlight Millennials and Gen Z are embracing these unions to combat financial uncertainty and the rollback of LGBTQ+ rights
-
The 5 best zombie TV shows of all time
The Week Recommends For undead aficionados, the age of abundance has truly arrived
-
Your Party: a Pythonesque shambles
Talking Point Comical disagreements within Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's group highlight their precarious position
-
Behind the ‘Boriswave’: Farage plans to scrap indefinite leave to remain
The Explainer The problem of the post-Brexit immigration surge – and Reform’s radical solution
-
Can the Lib Dems be a party of government again?
Today's Big Question Leader Ed Davey is urged to drop the stunts and present a serious plan for the country
-
What is Donald Trump’s visit worth to the UK economy?
In the Spotlight Centrepiece of the president’s trip, business-wise, is a ‘technology partnership’
-
Is Andy Burnham making a bid to replace Keir Starmer?
Today's Big Question Mayor of Manchester on manoeuvres but faces a number of obstacles before he can even run
-
Angela Rayner: the rise and fall of a Labour stalwart
In the Spotlight Deputy prime minister resigned after she underpaid £40,000 in stamp duty
-
Will Donald Trump’s second state visit be a diplomatic disaster?
Today's Big Question Charlie Kirk shooting, Saturday’s far-right rally and continued Jeffrey Epstein fallout ramps-up risks of already fraught trip
-
The runners and riders for the Labour deputy leadership
The Explainer Race to replace Angela Rayner likely to come down to Starmer loyalist vs. soft-left MP supported by backbenchers and unions