UK's first Black female MP suspended again as Labour cracks down on dissent

Diane Abbott, one of Britain's most prominent leftwing figures and the first Black woman elected to parliament, has been suspended from the Labour Party for a second time, after she publicly defended controversial remarks on racism.

Abbott's removal has deepened tensions within Labour's left flank, with allies viewing it as part of a broader purge of dissenting voices.

Abbott, who in 2024 became the longest-serving female MP and holds the honorary title “Mother of the House,” now faces a fresh investigation over her defense of a 2023 letter in which she suggested that people of color experience racism “all their lives” — distinct from the “prejudice” experienced by Jewish, Irish and Traveller communities.

In a statement to BBC's Newsnight on Thursday evening, Abbott said: "It is obvious this Labour leadership wants me out. My comments in the interview … were factually correct, as any fair-minded person would accept."

She also said: "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."

Earlier in the day, she told the BBC: “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. 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 don't know why people would say that.”

The Labour leader also suspended Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff this week, saying their punishment was not only about a single vote but the result of “repeatedly breaking the whip” and undermining Labour's ability to fulfil its manifesto.

Starmer, who was questioned at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday, defended the Labour leadership's disciplinary actions.

“We are elected in to change this country for the better, and that means we've got to carry through that change, and we've got to carry through reforms,” he said.