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Keir Starmer under pressure to stop Hackney MP from running in Labor election Diane Abbott suspended by Labor after suggesting Jews don't face racism Diane Abbott has been condemned by her own wing of the Labor Party for taking a line of anti-Semitism after claiming that the Jewish people are not subject to racism.
The left-wing MP was suspended by the party and apologized almost immediately for a letter she wrote, published in The Observer.
He said the Jewish, Irish and Traveler communities suffered "prejudice" but added: "It sounds like racism and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable."
Despite his apologies, Abbott did not have the support of his colleagues on the left. Jon Lansman, founder of the campaign group Momentum which supported former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, condemned his comments as "disgraceful".
He wrote on Twitter: “A disgraceful comment by Diane Abbott for which she was rightfully suspended from the Labor Party. Racism is not a competition!
Labor Against Antisemitism said the comments were "simply unacceptable". Spokesperson Fiona Sharpe said: “To reduce the racism Jews face to mere prejudice when, in living memory, six million Jews have been systematically murdered in Europe because of their race is extremely offensive.
And, pressing Sir Keir Starmer to prevent him from standing in the upcoming election, the Anti-Semitism Campaign said his suspension "must be the first step towards his expulsion from the party."
Sir Keir, the Labor chief whip and Ms Abbott's home party will decide whether she stands for the party at the next election, Shadow Minister Pat McFadden has said.
McFadden, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, told Sky News: "I'm sure if she issued an apology, it's genuine. But it will be up to the whip boss and boss to decide what happens next. »
He added: “The way it works in the Labor Party is that you are elected by your local party, you have to be approved by the NEC [national executive committee]. The Chief Whip also has a say in this. So there will be a process there.
Diane Abbott and Keir Starmer, then Shadow Brexit secretary, at the 2019 rally
Lord Mann, the government's independent adviser on anti-Semitism, said Abbott's comments were among the "most startling" he had seen and suggested he would retire at the next election. He added that Ms Abbott's apology is "only half an apology".
He told Sky News: "I hope she stands down now in the next election. She has suffered from racism and she is in denial about the suffering of other groups, the traveling community, the Jewish community, in terms of what they have suffered and continue to suffer and of discrimination against them.
Lord Mann said that Abbott was "historically wrong, factually wrong and politically wrong".
Diane Abbott at the Labor Conference in 2018
Despite the causes for her permanent expulsion, Labor MPs who favor Abbott's return fear she could be suspended indefinitely in a bid to undermine her selection as a candidate at the upcoming general election.
Former Labor MP Claudia Webbe, who was expelled from the party after being found guilty of harassing a love rival and sitting as an independent, expressed her "solidarity" with Ms Abbott.
She wrote on Twitter: “I want to publicly state my solidarity with Diane Abbott. She backed down and disassociated. Now the stack against it should stop. We must oppose all forms of racism, always.
A close ally of Corbyn, Abbott said it was "extraordinary" that Sir Keir formally barred her from standing as a Labor candidate in the upcoming election.
Corbyn was suspended for his response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission report on anti-Semitism within the party, arguing that the problem had been "exaggerated" by his political opponents.
The former leader called the move a "shameful attack on party democracy." He also said that Sir Keir's claims that the pair were never friends are "grammar school stuff" and criticized the anti-Rishi Sunak adverts as "bad news".
Ms. Abbott was the first black woman elected to Parliament and is currently the longest-serving black MP. She has been the target of racist abuse since she became an MP in 1987, both at Westminster and on social media and through letters and emails.
She was the target of almost half of all abusive tweets sent to women MPs ahead of the 2017 general election, and received 10 times more abuse than any other female MP, according to research by Amnesty International.
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