Jeremy Corbyn is facing calls for an investigation into his financial interests, after Labour MP Neil Coyle wrote to Parliament’s Standards Commissioner claiming Corbyn has not declared the full extent of the support he received to cover his legal expenses from disputes over antisemitism. Failing to declare any financial support in the MPs’ register of interests is a violation of the members’ code of conduct…

According to Coyle’s letter, Corbyn is alleged to racked up at least £150,000 in legal bills fighting claims of antisemitism, with Unite having fronted nearly £100,000 of that total in just one defamation case (which Corbyn lost). Unite are also said to have lent support in Corbyn’s fight against the BBC over their representation of his comments on shoot-to-kill. Senior members of the Unite leadership, including current general secretary candidate Howard Beckett, were aware of all of this… 

Corbyn’s register of interests states he is “likely to benefit from a legal fund managed by JBC Defence Ltd which was set up on 16 October 2020 to help meet any legal costs which I or my supporters incur in relation to allegations of defamation“, though where this cash is coming from isn’t stated. It also doesn’t include Unite’s contributions…

Hat-tip: Joe Pike