Veteran London MP Diane Abbott is urging Sir Keir Starmer to restore her to Labour’s parliamentary ranks, while accusing the Conservatives of playing the “race card” in the buildup to an election.
Britain’s first black woman MP, who is at the centre of a racism storm, also protested after Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons on Wednesday when she stood repeatedly in a failed bid to attract Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s attention.
The Speaker refused to do so, arguing there was not enough time to call on every MP, but the decision raised eyebrows given much of the session was devoted to discussing toxic comments made against Ms Abbott by Tory donor Frank Hester.
“Reading his remarks, I was upset but not surprised. This is partly because I am hardened to racist abuse,” the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington wrote in The Guardian.
“But as the election draws nearer, and Labour stays 20 points ahead in the polls, the Tories are desperate,” she said, insisting that Liz Truss had destroyed the party’s reputation for economic competence.
“So the only card the Tories have left to play is the race card, and they are going to play it ruthlessly.”During PMQs, Sir Keir assailed Rishi Sunak over the PM’s refusal to hand back £10 million donated to the Conservatives by Mr Hester, after it emerged that the healthcare businessman had reportedly spoken in racist terms about Ms Abbott and called for her to be “shot”.
After the stormy session, Sir Keir approached Ms Abbott to “offer any additional support that she might need from us”, according to Labour frontbencher Darren Jones speaking on Sky News on Thursday morning.
She said she replied: “You could restore the whip.”
“Starmer did refer to me in PMQs but all the indications are that the people around him are digging in against any suggestion that I should have the whip restored,” Ms Abbott wrote.
“It will be both sad and strange if Starmer throws Britain’s first black woman MP out of the PLP (Parliamentary Labour Party) because of an eight-line letter, for which I immediately apologised. But the most important thing is that the Labour party holds fast to its anti-racist tradition.”
First elected for Labour in 1987, Ms Abbott lost the party whip in April 2023 after suggesting on The Observer’s letters page that Jewish, Irish and Traveller people were not subject to racism “all their lives” as black people were.
She apologised “wholly and unreservedly” but remains suspended pending an independent investigation commissioned by Labour.
On Wednesday Andy McDonald MP had the Labour whip restored after an internal investigation following his use of the pro-Palestinian phrase “between the river and the sea” at a protest rally. It found he had "not engaged in conduct that was against the party's rulebook".
Sir Keir’s spokesman fended off questions about why Ms Abbott’s own case was still under review despite her apology at the time, amid accusations that the leader’s office is targeting Left-wing allies of Jeremy Corbyn.
“There are a number of reasons why disciplinary cases can take time. It's not appropriate to comment on individual cases,” the spokesman told reporters.
“There has been a thorough overhaul from the way in which complaints were handled under the previous leadership, to make sure that we now have a system that doesn't operate with political interference, and that's the right way for us today,” he added.
Ms Abbott stressed that said she had not received an apology from Labour after a report published in 2022 by barrister Martin Forde found that she had been the target for abuse in private WhatsApp messages among party staffers hostile to Mr Corbyn, which showed “overt and underlying racism and sexism”.Mr Jones told Radio 5 Live that the investigation into Ms Abbott was independent of the party, but insisted that Sir Keir was “leading on this issue” of anti-racism after Mr Corbyn’s leadership was marred by widespread allegations of antisemitism.
The shadow chief secretary to the Treasury added that it was “a bit odd” that Sir Lindsay fail to call on Ms Abbott at PMQs, even if time was running out for other MPs who had won a ballot to ask questions.
Rosena Allin-Khan, the Labour MP for Tooting, strongly urged the party to expedite the investigation into Ms Abbott.
"What I would say is that a year is a very long time for someone to undergo a process and not know the outcome,” she said on ITV’s Peston.
“I would like to see that sped up because Diane has contributed a great deal. She has been a pioneer in politics for decades and I would like to see her get some resolution as quickly as possible."
On Mr Hester’s donations, Dr Allin-Khan noted the Prime Minister’s reluctance to call out Lee Anderson for racism after the then Tory MP - who has since defected to Reform UK - claimed London Mayor Sadiq Khan was in the grip of Islamist extremists.
"Words matter. We have two MPs who have been murdered, we have other MPs who survived incidents where they could almost have died. And we have people who have been put behind bars for violence instigated against Members of Parliament,” the Tooting MP said.
Cabinet minister Michael Gove restated the PM’s refusal to hand back Mr Hester’s money, which is believed to form a large portion of the Conservatives’ election fighting fund. But he also had warm words for Ms Abbott.
It was the Speaker’s prerogative who gets to address the Commons, the Communities Secretary said on Times Radio.
“But the one thing I would say is that Diane Abbott is a wonderful person who has contributed an enormous amount of public life, and whose advocacy in particular for improved educational outcomes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds as well I've long admired,” Mr Gove said.
He declined to comment on internal Labour processes. “But I do think that Diane Abbott's voice is one that should continue to be heard.”
