Angela Rayner says she wants to see Diane Abbott let back into Labour
Labour’s Deputy Leader Angela Rayner has said she would like to see Diane Abbott let back into the Labour Party after being suspended almost a year ago.
Ms Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987, has sat as an independent since April after Labour withdrew the whip following comments over the Jewish, Irish and Traveller communities. Her comments came moments after Keir Starmer resisted calls to welcome the veteran left-winger back into the fold as he said the issue over the Labour whip had not been "resolved".
Ms Rayner said she “shared the frustration” at the investigation into the comments having taken 11 months. She said she would “personally” like to see “Diane back” into the party. But she emphasised that she has no involvement in the process and that the decision is made through a panel of experts.
Asked if Ms Abbott should have the Labour whip restored, Ms Rayner told a gathering of journalists: “I share the frustration at times on how long the processes take but in instances, some of them, there are sensitive reasons for that… But I would like to see Diane back, personally… but the Labour Party has to follow its procedures and for me that is the most important thing.”
She added that comments allegedly made by Tory donor Frank Hester that seeing Ms Abbott on TV made him "want to hate all Black women" and that she "should be shot" were “absolutely chilling”. She added: “I know because I worked with her when she was in the Shadow Cabinet with me. I saw the levels of abuse that Diane got when she was on our frontbench and Diane has been having severe abuse, and it's well documented that she gets racist, misogynistic, vile abuse, and that's been going on for a long time.”
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
After a heated PMQs session about Mr Hester's comments on Wednesday, Mr Starmer went over to speak to a frustrated-looking Ms Abbott after she was not selected to speak. Ms Abbott later confirmed she told Mr Starmer he could restore the whip when he asked her if there was anything he could do. In response, Mr Starmer said: "I understand."
The following day the Labour leader emphasised her suspension was "an entirely different issue" from the racism storm and cautioned against conflating the two matters. Ms Abbott over a letter she wrote to The Observer suggesting Jewish, Irish and Traveller people are not subject to racism "all their lives".
Mr Starmer told the BBC's Jeremy Vine: "That was about allegations of antisemitism in relation to a letter... which is subject to an ongoing investigation, which is separate from me. That's not something which I conduct." He said the "independent process" was "not resolved".
In a statement on Monday, a spokesperson from Mr Hester's company The Phoenix Partnership said: "Frank Hester accepts that he was rude about Diane Abbott in a private meeting several years ago but his criticism had nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin. The Guardian is right when it quotes Frank saying he abhors racism, not least because he experienced it as the child of Irish immigrants in the 1970’s.
"He rang Diane Abbott twice today to try to apologise directly for the hurt he has caused her, and is deeply sorry for his remarks. He wishes to make it clear that he regards racism as a poison which has no place in public life."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
