UK Labour suspends a well-known MP due to a letter of racism

Sunday saw the suspension of popular MP Diane Abbott by the main opposition Labour Party in the UK, pending an investigation into remarks she made suggesting that Jews were not subject to bigotry “all their lives.”

In a letter to the Observer newspaper, Abbott, the first black woman elected as an MP in the UK, claimed that redheads, Jews, and Travellers all “face discrimination” akin to that experienced by “white persons with points of distinction, such as redheads.” But racism does not affect them constantly.

“At the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships,” she added.

Labour Party immediately announced that Abbott, who was shadow interior minister under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, had been suspended from its parliamentary party.

“The Labour Party completely condemns these comments, which are deeply offensive and wrong,” said a spokesman.

“The chief whip has suspended the Labour whip from Diane Abbott pending an investigation.”

In a later tweet, Abbott stated that an original draft of the letter had been transmitted incorrectly and that she wished to “wholly and totally remove my words.”

“Racism takes many forms and it is completely undeniable that Jewish have suffered its monstrous effects,” she said.

In 2020, the Equality and Human Rights Commission concluded that Corbyn’s Labour was “responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination” due to antisemitism.

Keir Starmer, who succeeded Corbyn, apologized for the situation and said his predecessor would not be permitted to run as a Labour candidate in the upcoming election.