Prior to Palestine solidarity activist Jeremy Corbyn becoming party leader in 2015, Garrard donated almost $2 million to Labour under former leaders Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband. #LabourLeals #TheLobby #LFI
Despite leaving the party, Garrard continued to fund individual anti-Corbyn MPs within Labour.
The Independent Group was formed by eight Labour MPs who quit the party.
While they were still in Labour, Garrard funded two of these eight. #LabourLeals #TheLobby #LFI
Garrard donated almost $28,000 to Ian Austin – a leading supporter of Labour Friends of Israel.
Austin to Sky News, “I’ve been campaigning against Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership for years.” Joan Ryan resigned from Labour claiming Corbyn’s “hatred for Israel”.
The official register of donations to MP's shows that in 2016 and 2017, Garrard donated almost $9,000 to Ryan and more than $50,000 to Chuka Umunna. Garrard has also donated almost $20,000 to Tom Watson – who has long opposed Corbyn. #LabourLeaks #StarmerOut #LFI #TheLobby
Garrard quit Labour in 2018. He was embroiled in the “cash for peerages” scandal during the government of Tony Blair.
Garrard was one of four controversial names nominated by Blair to be “life peers” in the House of Lords, the UK’s unelected upper chamber. #LabourLeaks #LFI
The four were rejected, and it was later revealed they had previously loaned millions to the Labour Party, raising the question of whether they had effectively paid for the nominations.
Garrard denied any wrongdoing. Although Blair was questioned three times by police, and two of his aides were arrested, no one was ever charged with a crime. #LabourLeaks #StarmerOut #LFI
2017, an undercover investigation by Al Jazeera revealed that Labour Friends of Israel is effectively a front for the Israeli embassy
Staff privately admitted that, although “publicly we just try to keep the LFI as a separate identity to the embassy,” they work “really closely”
The Israeli embassy was trying to engineer the creation of a “Young Labour Friends of Israel” grouping within the UK’s main opposition party, to counteract strong grassroots support for Palestinian rights. #LabourLeaks #LFI
Ian Austin abandoned the Labour Party to become an independent MP was appointed as the Prime Minister’s trade envoy to Israel. “Trade with Israel is worth billions to Britain, it has resulted in investment and jobs in businesses across the UK'' 2019
https://t.co/EZzhcasgQA
MAINSTREAM, the anti-Corbyn group led by former Labour MPs Ian Austin, Ivan Lewis and Mike Gapes, used PR firm Public First - which is led by the person who co-wrote the 2019 Tory manifesto - to run its election activities. #LabourLeaks
https://t.co/tm0oB1GtOB
Mike Gapes, a co-director of the company, said he had “no knowledge” of the destruction of the documents. “Everything was done appropriately but it’s unfortunate that things could not be found.” Auditor says ‘inappropriate’ destruction. #LabourLaeks
https://t.co/qMpbjPngyI
Accounts show the party received £1.6m in donations during its brief existence. The party, which underwent multiple changes to its name and logo throughout 2019, spent £780,000, almost half of its money, on campaign advertising, according to the accounts.
