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Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer condemned Diane Abbott's comments on racism as "anti-Semitic" and said they would never be accepted into the party. Ms Abbott suspended Labor's whip after comments suggesting Jews, Irish and travelers are not subject to racism "all their lives". Sir Keir would not say whether Ms Abbott should re-stand for her London constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington at the next general election, saying: "There is an investigation going on, I have to let the investigation complete."
Sir Keir, speaking to reporters after a panel discussion in south-east London on violence against women and girls, said: "From my point of view, what she said was to be condemned, it was anti-Semitic."
She said in a letter to The Observer that although whites "with points of difference" experience prejudice, they do not suffer the same racism as blacks.
Ms Abbott has been an MP since 1987, was the first black woman elected to parliament and served as home secretary for former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Sir Keir said: "Diane Abbott has suffered much racial abuse over many, many years - that doesn't take away from the fact that I condemn the words she used and we must never accept the argument that there is some kind of hierarchy of racism." .
"I will never accept this, Labor will never accept this, and that is why we acted as quickly as we did yesterday."
Earlier, Pat McFadden, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said disciplinary matters "will be the business of the head whip and the leader" and that the party had "no choice" but to take action against Ms Abbott.
He told BBC Breakfast that his comments "were completely wrong".
He said: "They were offensive to people and were based on a very misconception that there can be some kind of hierarchy when it comes to victims of racism.
“Anyone who has looked at history will know that the Jewish people suffered the most terrible racism, the history of the 20th century is very evident.
"Even recently, anti-Semitism is still a problem in our society. I think what she said was wrong in her own words and the head whip and leader had no choice but to take action."
McFadden said Sir Keir Starmer is "determined to turn the page on some of the culture that was prevalent in the Labor Party before he became leader and I am sure he will be determined to make that change even more categorically after yesterday's events." .
Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell told LBC's Tonight with Andrew Marr that Ms Abbott had made a "terrible, terrible mistake".
The Labor leftist said: “I think it was a terrible, terrible mistake for Diane, and she knows it.
"That's why he immediately did the right thing and quickly apologized profusely."
He added: "I hope that anyone standing trial of her now has the generosity of spirit to acknowledge that for decades she was at the forefront of the campaign against racism and endured so much herself. I hope we can all learn from this.
Labor MP David Lammy said he was "stunned" by Ms Abbott's letter, which he also called anti-Semitic.
The shadow foreign secretary told the prime minister on BBC Radio 4: “I think it was anti-Semitic because it amounted to a hierarchy of racism.
"It wasn't just about the Jewish community, of course, it also downplayed the experience of Gypsies, Roma and Travelers, a very small minority group that experiences extreme racism."
He did not give a direct answer when asked if he should be allowed to run in the next general election, but stressed that he had apologized.
"The degree of unacceptability is for others to determine, but I would say that Diane Abbott moved to apologize very quickly," she said.
After drawing widespread criticism for her comments, Ms Abbott apologized for any "distress" caused, suggesting that "mistakes have occurred" in her first draft letter to the newspaper.
In his apology he said: “The errors occurred when submitting a first draft. But there is no excuse and I would like to apologize for any distress caused.
"Racism takes many forms, and there is no denying that the Jewish people have suffered from its monstrous effects, as have the Irish, the Nomads and many others."
The Labor Party said: “The Labor Party completely condemns these comments, which are deeply offensive and misguided.
"The Chief Whip has suspended Diane Abbott's Labor Whip pending an investigation."
Earlier this year Sir Keir ruled out any possibility of Corbyn running for Labor again.
It came as the Labor leader welcomed the decision by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to remove the party from two years of special measures for its anti-Semitism rulings under his predecessor.
PA files
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