Left-wing MP Shabana Mahmood was elected chair of Labour NEC’s disputes panel this morning – the sub-group of Labour’s national ruling body responsible for adjudicating internal complaints and disciplinary cases. Mahmood will now oversee Labour’s overhaul of its disciplinary process promised by Sir Keir after the findings of the EHRC antisemitism report last December. Will she be up to the job?

Given the role the chair will play, it’s lucky Labour electors gave the position to someone with comprehensive experience of ill-discipline:

• In 2014 she was “hauled in” by the Labour leadership after participating in an anti-Israel protest that forced a branch of Sainsbury’s to close for selling Israeli and kosher produce
• Subsequently, Mahmood was accused of “promoting public disorder” by the Jewish Leadership Council
• In 2015, Mahmood attended a gender-segregated party rally in the run-up to the 2015 election
• In 2019 she was accused of “courting blatant homophobia” after backing anti-LGBT education protest outside Birmingham schools, with Owen Jones calling on her to apologise

Even with this less-than-glowing track record, Shabana is a step up from the committee’s 2019 chair, Claudia Webbe – whatever happened to her?