By Ben Kerrigan-
Former labour leader Jeremy Corbyn MP has had his application for pre-action disclosure to mount a claim against the Labour party dismissed.
Presiding over the case, Master Sullivan rejected the claim was out of the ordinary in any relevant sense despite it being likely that Corbyn would make allegations against his successor and the opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer.
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Sullivan said that transparency between the parties greater than would normally be the case at this stage is desirable.’
Corbyn was seeking disclosure of documents relating to the decision last year to suspend his membership of the party, and automatically suspend the whip.
The outsted leader in the last British elections was suspended by new leader Keir Starmer, in response to a report on anti-Semitism in the Labour Party by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
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Master Sullivan stated that there is normally no pre-action disclosure apart from those documents required by protocols. The only exception is where disclosure may help to dispose fairly of the anticipated proceedings, assist the dispute to be resolved, or save costs.
Corbyn’s solicitors argued that in the absence of disclosure, he would be subjected to prejudice in preparing and pleading his case that the party acted in bad faith. Corbyn’s representatives argued that the documents sought must be in existence and were limited in scope and easily accessed.
The Master said that the jurisdictional threshold was not met, and disclosure now added no real prospect of disposing of proceedings or having them resolved. Withholding disclosure did not prejudice Corbyn’s case.
She added: ‘It seems to me that the request is indeed fishing. It is not appropriate for the court to allow a prospective litigant to review the documents to see if there is something that may be of use to them in advance of the litigation.’
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