THE official probe into anti-semitism in the Labour Party has been hit by a fresh conflict of interest row, after a second board member at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) accepted a paid position at a corporate law firm that represents the Tory government and outsourcing giant Serco.

Suzanne Baxter took up the job at Pinsent Masons in May, joining EHRC chair David Isaac, who is already an equity partner in the firm — which pays him up to £620,000 a year on top of his earnings from the equality watchdog.

Papers from an EHRC meeting that month, which were released following a freedom of information request by the Morning Star, reveal that Ms Baxter had “now taken up a role as an independent member of the board of Pinsent Masons.