Former shadow home secretary and former Labour MP Diane Abbott took to X on September 19 to complain that the investigation launched against her for antisemitism was not being carried out fairly.
Abbott had been suspended in April, as the Jerusalem Post reported at the time, for claiming that Jews don’t experience racism.
In the post, Abbott wrote that “As a Black woman, and someone on the left of the Labour Party, I have unfortunately been forced to reach the conclusion that I will not get a fair hearing from this Labour leadership.”
As a Black woman, and someone on the left of the Labour Party, I have unfortunately been forced to reach the conclusion that I will not get a fair hearing from this Labour leadership. pic.twitter.com/jZjVCJxeVW
— Diane Abbott MP (@HackneyAbbott) September 19, 2023
Attached to Abbott’s tweet are two pages of screenshotted text in which she further alleges that the investigation against her is being carried out improperly.
In the text, she claimed that “there is no investigation” as it was being carried out by the Labour Party HQ and party leader Keir Starmer.
Abbott went on to complain that “The Labour Party has not charged me with antisemitism because they know it is untrue. As someone who has fought all forms of racism all my life, I would considerate a very serious allegation. Instead, it has been used to smear me, my reputation, and decades of anti-racist work.
Abbott also goes on to claim that her experience was not uniformed, as a neighbouring county had allowed an MP to maintain communications and a relationship with a former Labour councillor convicted of child sexual abuse.
It was also stated that “Others have committed far more grave offences and belated or grudging apologies have been wrung from them. Yet they have been immediately excused as supporters of this leadership.”
The text finished with Abbott reaffirming that she is “the longest serving Black MP. Yet, there is a widespread sentiment that as a Black woman, and someone of the left of the Labour Party, that I will not get a fair hearing from this Labour leadership.”
The letter that got Diane Abbott suspended from Labour
As previously mentioned, Abbott wrote a letter to be published in The Observer in April of 2023. In Abbott's letter, she claims that Jews, Irish people and Traveller people "experience prejudice" which is "similar to racism, and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable."
Abbott went on to write "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."
"In pre-civil rights America, Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers were not required to sit at the back of the bus."
"In apartheid South Africa, these groups were allowed to vote. And at the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships."
Shortly after the letter was published, Abbott issued a statement on X in which she claimed she wished to “wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks and disassociate myself from them."
She also claimed that the letter had only been an initial draft and that she hadn’t meant for the comments to be published.
My statement pic.twitter.com/Wu2h4nNOvN
— Diane Abbott MP (@HackneyAbbott) April 23, 2023
Response to Diane Abbott’s recent claims
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour Party leader, reaffirmed his support for Abbott and her recent claims in an X post on September 19.
Corbyn wrote “The treatment of Diane Abbott — Britain’s first female Black MP — is a disgrace. The latest stitch-up represents yet another flagrant attack on local democracy. A lifelong anti-racist campaigner, Diane deserves so much better. So do party members being treated with contempt.”
The treatment of Diane Abbott — Britain’s first female Black MP — is a disgrace.The latest stitch-up represents yet another flagrant attack on local democracy.A lifelong anti-racist campaigner, Diane deserves so much better. So do party members being treated with contempt. pic.twitter.com/qMyV5bYk3c
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) September 19, 2023
Corbyn had also been removed from his leadership position due to a history of antisemitism.
Gary Mond, Chairman of the National Jewish Assembly in the United Kingdom, told the Post that "After Diane Abbott's disgraceful remarks in April this year, when she said that Jews were not subject to racism, it is wholly right that the Labour Party takes action against her. Indeed, if it does not do so it cannot be seen as being serious in fighting Jew hatred, which would be utterly unacceptable for a major British political party. Ms Abbott's stances on other political issues are absolutely no defence and are irrelevant."
“I feel the way Labour behaves in response is the single most important issue.”