Anti-semitic abuse chief joined Labour the same day she was appointed

Ex-Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti was brought in at the height of a row over alleged racist remarks that resulted in several high-profile figures being suspended, including Bradford West MP Naz Shah and former London mayor Ken Livingstone.

Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who faced allegations of not taking the situation sufficiently seriously, tasked her with helping set “boundaries of acceptable behaviour and language” and strengthening structures for dealing with racism of all forms.

He is due to present a promised beefed-up code of conduct to the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) today.

At a press conference to formally launch the inquiry, Ms Chakrabarti said she would investigate “without fear or favour” and produce recommendations that “will be mine alone”.

Labour - along with other progressive parties - had to “openly look at itself in the mirror” and combat not only prejudice but also complacency, she told reporters.

But she stressed that she also wanted to be clear that she was “working for - and in the best interests of - the Labour Party” and that she had taken up membership because she “just wanted to be honest”.

Asked if she felt it would undermine confidence that the inquiry - which she revealed would also have Labour peer Baroness Royall as a vice-chair alongside a leading Jewish academic - she said: “I consider myself to be independent.

“And I do not think I am less independent for making absolutely clear that I share the values of the Labour Party constitution and will seek to promote those values in any recommendations and findings.

“It is a judgment call but I thought that was the most honest thing to do - to be clear that I was undertaking this because I do believe in the values of the Labour Party and want to see them promoted not just in the Labour Party but in the world.”