Labour Party Reviews Diane Abbott’s Recent Comments on Racism

The Labour Party has announced it is reviewing an interview by Diane Abbott in which she defended previous comments about racism that resulted in her suspension from the party for over a year.

During a BBC interview with James Naughtie, Abbott was questioned about the controversy surrounding a letter she wrote to the Observer in April 2023. In that letter, she stated that Irish, Jewish, and Traveller people “undoubtedly experience prejudice” that is “similar to racism.”

She further wrote, “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.”

Abbott initially withdrew these remarks following criticism from Jewish and Traveller groups and issued an apology “for any anguish caused.” However, she was suspended from the Labour Party and was only readmitted shortly before the 2024 general election.

When asked by Naughtie whether she regretted the incident, Abbott responded, “No, not at all.”

She elaborated, “Clearly, there must be a difference between racism, which is about color, and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street; you don’t know. You don’t know unless you stop to speak to them or you’re in a meeting with them. But if you see a Black person walking down the street, you see straight away that they’re Black. There are different types of racism.”

When questioned about whether she believed she had made an error in her Observer letter, Abbott said, “I just think that it’s silly to try and claim that racism, which is about skin color, is the same as other types of racism. I just… I don’t know why people would say that.”

A Labour Party spokesperson responded, “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.”

Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, a Labour peer and Abbott supporter, told BBC’s Politics Live that she did not interpret the interview as Abbott retracting her previous apology. “She was saying, as I understand it… that people do experience racism differently—that doesn’t create a hierarchy; that doesn’t mean one kind of racism is better than another,” Chakrabarti explained.

Chakrabarti also referenced recent comments by Keir Starmer, stating, “I think people who are writing ‘island of strangers’ speeches should be a bit slow to sit in judgment on Diane Abbott, who has been fighting racism all her life.”

Lord John Mann, another Labour peer who co-produced a recent report on antisemitism, offered a different perspective: “When her [Abbott’s] constituents are attacked on the street because they are Jewish, it is anti-Jewish racism… they know what it is because they’re experiencing it day-in, day-out.”

During the wide-ranging interview for Naughtie’s Reflections program, recorded in May, Abbott was asked whether she would condemn antisemitic behavior with the same severity as racist behavior based on skin color. She replied, “Well, of course, and I do get a bit weary of people trying to pin the antisemitic label on me because I’ve spent a lifetime fighting racism of all kinds and, in particular, fighting antisemitism, partly because of the nature of my constituency.”

The interview covered Abbott’s political career and experiences as Britain’s first Black woman MP, including her activism alongside figures like Jeremy Corbyn. Abbott entered Parliament in 1987 and now holds the honorary title of Mother of the House as the longest-serving female MP.

Following her April 2023 letter, Abbott was suspended pending investigation, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer describing her letter as “antisemitic” and deserving of condemnation. She was readmitted to the Labour Party in May 2024, allowing her to stand as a Labour candidate in the general election, though an internal inquiry into her conduct had concluded four months earlier.

The former shadow home secretary received a “formal warning” for conduct deemed “prejudicial and grossly detrimental to the Labour Party” by the National Executive Committee. She also completed an online antisemitism awareness course.

When asked whether she felt abandoned by the Labour leadership, who continued to reference ongoing disciplinary proceedings after they had concluded, Abbott said: “In the end, Keir Starmer had to restore the whip to me. I got tremendous support locally. We had a big rally on the steps of Hackney Town Hall. And in the end, Keir Starmer and the people around him had to back off because of the support I had from the community.”

Abbott expressed her belief that the Labour leadership was “trying to get me out” and mentioned there were “hints” that she would be offered a House of Lords seat if she stepped down as an MP. “I was never going to do that. And I’m a Labour MP today, and I’m grateful,” she concluded.