Labour cuts ties with organisation named as Islamist by Gove

Party tells The Telegraph it has adopted a policy ‘to not engage’ with Muslim Engagement and Development

Labour has cut ties with a Muslim organisation, identified by Michael Gove as Islamist, which is to be investigated for extremism.
The party told The Telegraph it had adopted a policy “to not engage” with Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend). Labour MPs have previously attended events organised by the group. Mend has warned that Labour’s stance risks alienating Muslim voters.
Researchers into extremism have identified at least half a dozen Labour politicians who have attended Mend events.
The group is one of three described last month by Mr Gove, the Communities Secretary, as “giving rise to concern because of their Islamist orientation and views”. He said all would be investigated for extremism.
Labour MP Richard Burgon has praised Mend’s work as “vital” in holding people to account for Islamophobia.
Barry Sheerman, a fellow Labour MP, said he had attended a Mend event but was “disturbed” to subsequently discover that it allegedly hosted people with “deeply objectionable” views. He said he had not since had any engagement with it.
Told of the non-engagement policy, Mend said it was “unaware” of any such official Labour position but warned such a move would “harm the Labour Party, which is already haemorrhaging the Muslim vote”.
Mr Gove used Parliamentary privilege to name the three groups when he announced a new definition of extremism, which will be used to identify organisations that will be barred from contact with the Government or its agencies.
The other two were the Muslim Association of Britain and Cage, which was formed to campaign on the plight of Guantanamo Bay detainees. A full list of organisations is to be published by Mr Gove’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities within weeks.
A Labour source said: “The party’s policy is to not engage with Mend. The Government has not proscribed or classified this group as extremist. It has only thus far suggested – under parliamentary privilege – that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities may consider them under the new guidance announced.”
The source said the policy had been in place since Sir Keir Starmer took over from Jeremy Corbyn as leader in April 2020.
Mr Burgon, the MP for Leeds East, who was sacked as shadow justice secretary by Sir Keir that month, was filmed at a meeting run by Mend at Leeds Grand Mosque in December 2021.
He said at the meeting: “It is absolutely vital organisations like Mend work with the community to call out Islamophobia and hold people to account for it. 
“I think it is wonderful the way Mend has previously set out a way that people can make complaints about the coverage of the Muslim community on the BBC or other press organisations.”
Mr Burgon has been contacted for comment.
Mr Sheerman, a former shadow minister, said that in December 2020 he had agreed to an interview with Mend about Islamophobia, but added: “Following the interview, concerns were raised to me about Mend and I was disturbed to learn that there were allegations that it had hosted people with deeply objectionable views.
“Since learning of these allegations, I have not had any further engagement with the group. I have never had any association with the group or its views.”
Other MPs who have spoken at Mend events include Naz Shah, the Labour MP for Bradford West, and Alison Thewliss, the SNP MP for Glasgow Central. 
Kaya Comer-Schwartz, the Labour Islington council leader, also attended a Mend event. A spokesman for Ms Comer-Schwartz said Mend aimed to highlight the impact of Islamophobia on people’s lives, and that the event had been organised by the council and community partners.
A spokesman for Mend – which has challenged Mr Gove to repeat his accusations outside Parliament – said: “We would urge [Labour] to both reject the definition and the process proposed to apply it in practice, given that it is a blatant attack on free speech and seeks to deligitimise lawful dissent, both cornerstones of a healthy democracy.
“The party should also note that this definition has been rejected by all of the Muslim community’s institutions, including the Muslim Council of Britain.”
Research by experts on extremism also found that Labour-run Lewisham council had praised the work of the Lewisham Islamic Centre, headed by Shakeel Begg, the chief imam who unsuccessfully sued the BBC only to be identified as an extremist by the judge in the case.
A Labour spokesman said: “Labour have long warned about the need for concerted action on Islamist and far-Right extremism, and ministers are right to revisit the definition. We will scrutinise whether the counter-extremism centre works in practice, and the Government should share the evidence behind the definition.
“But the Tories are distracting from the real steps that need to be taken. The priority needs to be addressing online extremism, and a new counter-extremism strategy – it is now nine years out of date.”