Labour MP Diane Abbott is facing suspension from the Labour Party again after she said she has no regrets about comments on racism which led to her being suspended by the party.
The Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP was suspended by the Labour Party in 2023 after a writing a letter to The Observer comparing racism experienced by people of colour with that seen by other groups in which she implied antisemitism and prejudice against groups such as travellers was not as serious.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Reflections programme, she said she did not look back on the incident with regret.
But her remarks are now to be investigated by the party with the possibility she could have the whip suspended again in parliament.
Ms Abbott, who was readmitted to the party before the 2024 general election after a concerted campaign by supporters, told the programme: “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.
“I just think that it’s silly to try and claim that racism which is about skin colour is the same as other types of racism.
“I don’t know why people would say that.”
She apologised for any anguished caused by the remarks which drew criticism from Jewish and Travellers groups.
But a Labour Party spokesperson said: “There is no place for antisemitism in the Labour Party. We take these comments incredibly seriously, and will assess them in line with Labour Party’s rules and procedures.”
The threat comes less than 24 hours after the suspension of four leftwing rebels as Keir Starmer attempts to reassert his authority.
The longest-serving female MP in the Commons, who entered Parliament in 1987, said she got a “bit weary” about people labelling her antisemetic and said she had “spent a lifetime fighting racism of all kinds”.
She said she was “grateful” to be a Labour MP but was sure the party leadership had been “trying to get me out”.
Ms Abbott is a close ally of former leader Jeremy Corbyn who is now an independent MP having been expelled from the party. He is currently setting up a new party with another former Labour rebel Zara Sultana.
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