by Diane Abbott was offered the Labor whip back but refused because she would have to undergo anti-Generalist training, The Independent It has been said.
The long-serving black MP has been under investigation since she was suspended last April after an article she wrote about Jews, with pressure mounting on the party as to why it has taken so long.
But sources from the left and right of the Labor Party have said The Independent that the investigation is dragging on in part because of Ms Abbott’s own refusal to compromise.
The revelation comes as senior Labor figures surrounded Ms Abbott after a racist row involving the Conservative Party’s biggest donor, who said the MP had made him “hate all black women” and should be she shot.
Shadow deputy leader Angela Rayner and House mother Harriet Harman are among those who have said they want her back in the party.
The whip was suspended for Ms Abbott last April after she wrote a letter suggesting that Jews are not subject to the same racism as certain minorities.
She immediately apologized and said the letter published in The Observer that it was an “initial draft” sent by mistake.
According to sources, Ms Abbott was given the chance to get the whip back if she offered a “fuller” apology and took an anti-Semitism awareness course.
One person said the result was that she “reversed” after her first apology, and said she would not apologize or do the requested training.
“And that is why this has been going on for 10 months and not 25 minutes,” said the shadow minister The Independent. Another MP on the left of the party added: “I don’t know why she didn’t do it.”
Ms Abbott said “key features” of what it is The Independent said he was wrong, but gave no more details: “I cannot reveal the details of this process because, under Labor rules, it would be another disciplinary offence.”
She also reiterated her earlier claim that the Labor investigation is “fraudulent”.
In her controversial letter she said Jewish, Irish and Traveler communities had been “harmed”, but added: “This is tantamount to racism and the two words are often used as if they were interchangeable.”
Ms Abbott added: “It’s true that this bias can affect many types of white people who have points of difference, such as redheads. But their whole lives are not subject to racism.”
As a Black woman, and someone on the left of the Labor Party, I have unfortunately been forced to come to the conclusion that I will not get a fair hearing from this Labor leadership. pic.twitter.com/jZjVCJxeVW
— Diane Abbott MP (@HackneyAbbott) September 19, 2023
The investigation into Ms Abbott is ongoing, and Labor is refusing to explain why it is taking so long or when it will be completed.
Supporters of Ms Abbott, who was elected MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington in 1987, believe the probe is being used to push her out at the next election.
If her suspension remains in place when the election is called, Labour’s national executive committee will have to decide whether she can stand or field a new candidate.
Another shadow minister said The Independent Mr Abbott was “stubborn” and the party was “desperate to make a deal with her”.
The figure said the Labor leadership wants to bring her back into the parliamentary party as long as she agrees to “gracefully move out” at the next general election, a compromise they believe will allow her to stand as a Labor MP ” with her legacy intact. “.
Ms Abbott has given no indication that she intends to stand down at the next election.
Pressure is mounting on Sir Keir Starmer to reinstate the whip following the alleged comments of the Tories’ biggest donor Frank Hester. Mr Hester, who is believed to have given the party £15m in the past year, told Ms Abbott that “you’re trying to make every black woman hate” and “she should be shot”, Guardian investigation found.
Ms Rayner spoke out on Thursday in support of Mr Abbott, adding to calls from across the political spectrum: “I personally want to see Diane back. But the Labor Party has to follow its procedures… so whatever I think.”
Ms Harman called for the investigation into the suspension to be speeded up, admitting that processes can sometimes be slow, while former chancellor Ed Balls and Tony Blair’s former political secretary John McTernan called on Sir Keir for the whip to restore.
said Miss Abbott The Independent: “I can’t reveal the details of this process because, under Labour’s rules, that would be another disciplinary offence. But your sources are wrong in key ways. But their claims also show that the investigative process fraudulent. The Labor Party used this sham. in an attempt to bully me.”
She also hinted on X/Twitter that she doesn’t think she’ll ever get the whip back, claiming Labour’s “real agenda” is to push her out.
On Thursday, Sir Keir would not back down on whether Ms Abbott, who currently sits as an independent, could hope to become a Labor MP again, saying the 10-month investigation into her anti-Semitic remarks was not allegedly “fixed” .
The Labor leader said she was a trailblazer and described the language allegedly used by Mr Hester as “ridiculous”, but told Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2 that the MP was allowed back in in the party is “an entirely different issue”.
“That involved allegations of anti-Semitism in relation to a letter… which is subject to an ongoing investigation, which is separate from me. That’s not what I ship.”
Labor did not respond The Independentrequest for comment.
