Indian-origin human rights lawyer Shami Chakrabarti oversaw Opposition Labour party’s recent anti-semitism inquiry and was nominated by party leader Jeremy Corbyn for a peerage soon after.
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“Shami Chakrabarti has made a mistake; she should have been in the House of Commons rather than the House of Lords”, he told Sky News.
Labour MPs also expressed concern over the appointment.
Diane Abbott, the shadow health secretary, has said: “I don’t think it would be improper at all, Shami has an incredibly distinguished career, she is just the sort of person who should be going into the Lords”.
Mr Watson told BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme: “The timing is not great for the Labour Party, I wasn’t aware, I wasn’t consulted on whether Shami was going in, I didn’t know that we’d provided citations for this particular round”.
“And I do think it’s a mistake because I don’t think I agree with resignation honours”.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said it was “weak on the demonisation of Israel” and “omitted any mention of party figures who have displayed friendship towards terrorists”.
Marie van der Zyl, the group’s vice-president, said: “It is beyond disappointing that Shami Chakrabarti has been offered, and accepted, a peerage from Labour following her so-called “independent” inquiry. But let’s not pretend that a Labour peerage in these circumstances doesn’t stink”.
In its stinging response to the Chakrabarti report, the Board of Deputies said it “fails to explore the history of anti-Semitism, including anti-Zionist anti-Semitism, on the Left”.
Chakrabarti herself ducked questions in an interview released last month about whether she had been offered a seat by Labour in the House of Lords.
Mr Corbyn had previously said he would never nominate anyone for a peerage.
Her appointment drew fury from Jewish leaders, with the Community Security Trust, an anti-Semitism charity, saying it was a ‘shameless kick in the teeth for all who put hope in her now wholly compromised inquiry’.
Wes Streeting, Labour MP for Ilford North, tweeted: “Shami Chakrabarti will bring great experience to the Lords”. However, it is understood he has since felt the need to keep up the party’s numbers in the Lords as much as possible, especially since Cameron has nominated 13 peers.
She said that she chose to join for two reasons: first, she had been an undeclared Labour voter and supporter for some time (due to her work in a non-political-party-affiliated organisation) and second, she wanted to be clear that her Inquiry would be conducted in the Party’s best interests. “Brexit will put many hard-fought rights at risk, so it is crucial that those equipped with the right skills are given the opportunity to hold this Government to account”.
The former director of human rights group Liberty was asked to do the report after a series of antisemitism accusations involving Labour members.
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The new peerage will take the number in the House of Lords to 813, making it one of the world’s biggest legislative chambers.
