Diane Abbott faces another Labour suspension after doubling down on race comments
Diane Abbott could be suspended from the Labour Party again after doubling down on claims that Jews do not experience the same kind of racism as black people.
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The veteran MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington had the whip removed in April 2023 for writing a letter to The Observer where she said white people, including Irish, Jewish and Traveller people, cannot truly experience racism.
“It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. But they are not all their lives subject to racism,” she wrote at the time.
She later withdrew her remarks and apologised "for any anguish caused".
But asked on Wednesday whether she regretted those comments, which led to a year-long suspension, she said: “No, not at all.”
“Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you don’t know [their background]. You don’t know unless you stop to speak to them or you’re in a meeting with them," she added.
Read more: Dianne Abbott faces calls to lose whip after calling IDF 'Jewish Defence Force'
“But if you see a black person walking down the street, you see straight away that they’re black. They are different types of racism,” she told BBC Radio 4.
A Labour Party spokesman said: “There is no place for antisemitism in the Labour Party.
“We take these comments incredibly seriously, and will assess them in line with the Labour Party’s rules and procedures.”
The comments risk reopening the row that led to her original suspension.
Earlier this month, she faced calls to lose the whip after blaming the "Jewish Defence Force" for atrocities in Gaza.
She wrote on X: “Beyond horrific that the Jewish Defence Force is gunning down Palestinians as they queue for food #Gaza Genocide.”
The post appeared to reference an article written by journalist Chris Hedges in 2001 in which he alleged that Israeli troops had “enticed children like mice into a trap and murdered them for sport”.
Critics said the comments were inflammatory and unsubstantiated.
A spokesperson for the Board of Deputies said branded the post "disgraceful", saying it was "the latest in her long line of anti-Jewish offences and provocations."
Ms Abbott has been an MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987 and has a long history of anti-racism campaigning.
She has expressed support for pro-Palestinian campaigners and has long called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
She maintains that she has “spent a lifetime fighting racism of all kinds and in particular fighting antisemitism, partly because of the nature of my constituency”.
Her east London seat includes Stamford Hill, which has one of the highest proportion of Jewish residents in Britain.