VETERAN Labour MP Diane Abbott has been suspended by the party for a second time after repeating controversial race remarks.
The left-winger doubled down on her previous claims that Jews experience racism differently from black people.
AFP or licensorsDiane Abbott has been suspended[/caption]
She was previously suspended for a year in 2023 over the comments in a letter she wrote to The Observer.
At the time, the Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP withdrew the remarks, apologising for any “anguish” caused.
And she even said that the letter had been a draft published in error.
But on Thursday Ms Abbott said she did not regret the incident “at all”.
She told BBC Radio 4: “Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you don’t know [their background]. You don’t know unless you stop to speak to them or you’re in a meeting with them.
“But if you see a black person walking down the street, you see straight away that they’re black. They are different types of racism.”
A Labour spokesman said: “Diane Abbott has been administratively suspended from the Labour Party, pending an investigation.
“We cannot comment further while this investigation is ongoing.”
It means Ms Abbott – the current longest serving female MP and Mother of the House – will sit as an independent alongside her close ally Jeremy Corbyn.
Earlier in the day Angela Rayner said she was “disappointed” by Ms Abbott’s comments.
The Deputy Prime Minister told the Guardian the comments represented a “real challenge” for the party and it was “not good” that Abbott had sought to back away from her earlier apology.
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer suspended four Labour MPs and sacked three others in a purge of left-wingers.
They included prominent backbencher Rachael Maskell, who was one of the welfare revolt ringleaders.
She has lost the Labour whip alongside other rebels Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff and Neil Duncan Jordan – for what insiders described as “persistent k*obheadery”.
The Prime Minister said he had to “deal with people who repeatedly break the whip” and said his MPs need to “deliver as a Labour Government”.
Asked about the crackdown, he told a press conference: “We had to deal with people who repeatedly break the whip because everyone was elected as a Labour MP on the manifesto of change and everybody needs to deliver as a Labour Government.”
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