Diane Abbott defiant over race row as Keir Starmer suspends four rebel Labour MPs

Diane Abbott has said she stands by controversial comments about racism that led to her year‑long suspension from the Labour Party – and insists she has no regrets. In an interview for BBC Radio 4’s Reflections with James Naughtie broadcast on Thursday morning, the veteran Labour MP defended a 2023 letter to The Observer in which she argued that people of colour experience racism differently to Irish, Jewish and Traveller communities.

The remarks were widely condemned as antisemitic. Ms Abbott later withdrew the letter, blaming the wording on a draft error, and apologised “for any anguish caused.” However, she was suspended by Labour and only readmitted shortly before the 2024 general election. Asked if she regretted writing the letter, she said: “No, not at all.”

She said: "Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism. You can see a black person walking down the street – you see straight away that they’re black. They are different types of racism."

Asked whether she believed she had done anything wrong, she said: "I just think that it’s silly to try and claim that racism which is about skin colour is the same as other types of racism."

When asked if she would condemn antisemitic behaviour in the same way as racism against black people, she 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."

Ms Abbott, who entered Parliament in 1987 as Britain’s first black woman MP, also claimed the party leadership had tried to force her out. She said: "I got tremendous support locally. In the end, Keir Starmer and the people around him had to back off."

She added there had been "hints" she would be offered a seat in the House of Lords if she agreed to step down – but she insisted: "I was never going to do that. And I’m a Labour MP today, and I’m grateful."

She was eventually issued with a formal warning and required to complete an antisemitism awareness course. Although Labour’s internal investigation concluded in early 2024, she was only readmitted in May. She remains the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington and holds the honorary title of Mother of the House.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer made a show of discipline by suspending four Labour MPs – Rachael Maskell, Brian Leishman, Neil Duncan-Jordan and Chris Hinchliff – after they rebelled against the government's welfare reform plans.

He also stripped three others of their trade envoy roles, warning that persistent dissent would not be tolerated amid efforts to impose spending cuts £5 billion in size.