Veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott has said she has been banned from standing for Labour at the General Election.
It comes less than 24 hours after Ms Abbott – the first Black woman elected to Parliament – had the whip restored. But she told the BBC : “Although the whip has been restored, I am banned from standing as a Labour candidate.”
Labour withdrew the whip from the long-standing MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington in April 2023, after she suggested Jewish, Irish and Traveller people experienced prejudice, but not racism all their lives.
She has since apologised, and is understood to have attended an anti-Semitism awareness course in February.
Keir Starmer refused to say yesterday whether she would be allowed to stand as a Labour candidate in the election.
Asked about the investigation finishing in December, the Labour leader said: “The process overall is obviously a little longer than the fact-finding exercise. But in the end, this is a matter that will have to be resolved by the National Executive Committee and they’ll do that in due course.”
On Wednesday Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was “not particularly” comfortable with how fellow MP Ms Abbott had been treated. He told Times Radio: “I know that Diane had the whip restored and her suspension lifted yesterday. This was following her suspension over remarks that she made, for which she later apologised. So I know at this stage, in terms of decisions about her candidature, as much as has been reported.”
He added: “I think this has gone on for a very long time. But I’m here this morning to talk about the NHS waiting lists and I say this with enormous respect for everything that Diane has achieved in politics.”
Asked if Ms Abbott was owed an apology Mr Streeting said: “Diane rightly apologised for the comments that she made that led to her suspension, as to the process, I think those questions are better directed to people responsible for the process. I think it’s best that we wait for all other facts to emerge about the decision making in this case, which I’ve not been involved in, have no responsibility for and I’m here to talk about the seven and a half million people who are on NHS waiting lists.”