Snapshot

A snapshot from this morning's BBC Breakfast paper review, featuring Nazir Afzal, former Chief Prosecutor here in the North West:

Naga Munchetty: Something we've been talking about this week. we're talking about this morning as well - and something all the papers have picked up on. Jeremy Corbyn has announced changes to recognising anti-Semitism, if there is any, in the Labour Party, and this focus in The Times. 

Nazir Afzal: Naga, I suspect when I was growing up - I'm older than you - in the 60s and 70s, racism and the like was so overt. Now it's much more subtle. But I think we've got complacent. You know, when I saw Ken Livingstone in the disabled toilet with journalists shouting questions about Hitler about him, I thought 'This is all surreal'. But let's not forget the important issue. The important issue is that racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, is very real to those who are suffering it, day in and day out, in this country. And I sense, maybe, now we're going to be taking it a bit more seriously than we have done. We've got complacent. We thought, 'We're doing it really well. We're handling these cases really well. We're dealing with people who may have offended in some way, shape or form'. But my sense is that this was necessary for us - not just for the Labour Party - across the board - for people to start taking this issue much more seriously. 

Naga Munchetty: When you say 'take an issue much more seriously', what do you mean? Ken Livingstone has been suspended. Do you think he should be sacked?

Nazir Afzal: That's a matter for the Labour Party. I'm no long... 

Naga Munchetty: In a sense of taking it seriously though? 

Nazir Afzal: 'Taking it seriously' is suspending it, investigating it, and seeing if people learn. I'll give you a good example. Naz Shah was, earlier in the week...She posted something on Facebook three or four years ago. She apologised in parliament. She really means that she will act differently. Hopefully she will be a voice now for change around those who don't want to believe in equality across races, etc. So there is good that can come out of something like this. My sense is that something good has to come out of it because the Labour Party's not the only organisation that's got problems in this area.