A Labour MP was told to delete a tweet which said Rishi Sunak becoming Prime Minister “isn’t a win for Asian representation”.
Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East, removed her tweet after it drew backlash on social media.
A spokesman for Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has now confirmed she was instructed to remove it.
Earlier on Wednesday, Sir Keir refused to say whether he personally weighed in on the matter.
On Sky News on Wednesday afternoon, a reporter asked the Labour leader: “Your spokesperson says [Ms Whittome] was told to delete the tweet. Was that your instruction?”
Sir Keir responded: “Let me be very clear with you about the position fo the Labour Party. I was able to say that at Prime Minister’s Questions, which was to welcome the first Asian prime minister as a real milestone for our country.
“It shows that in Britain, whatever your race, whatever your beliefs, your dream can come true.”
He added: “[Rishi Sunak and I] had a private call last night and the first thing I did was to congratulate him for being a prime minister of British Asian descent, and it’s really, really important that I did that.”
But Sir Keir refused to be drawn on whether he asked Ms Whittome to delete her tweet.
Pressed by Sky News, he said: “The position of the labour party is the position that I have set out. the whole Labour Party supports that, and we’re very, very pleased to do that.”
Rishi Sunak took office on Tuesday, becoming the UK’s first Asian and first Hindu Prime Minister in what has widely been hailed a “historic moment”.
In a now-deleted tweet, Ms Whittome wrote: “Rishi Sunak as prime minister isn’t a win for Asian representation.
“He’s a multi-millionaire who, as chancellor, cut taxes on bank profits while overseeing the biggest drop in living standards since 1956. Black, white or Asian: if you work for a living, he is not on your side.”
