Facts
Asked whether she was comfortable with the way Diane Abbott had been treated following the controversy over whether Britain’s first black female MP would be allowed to stand for Labour at the 2024 general election, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Everybody would have liked to see the process speeded up but I think I’m really glad that it’s resolved now.”
Abbott was investigated by the Labour Party for comments she made about racism in a letter published by the Observer on 23 April 2023. Keir Starmer claimed on 14 March 2024 that Abbott was subject to a “process” that “needs to complete.” On 24 May 2024 Starmer reiterated to the BBC that Abbott “is going through, been part of, getting to the end of a disciplinary process because of something that she said,” and on the same day told LBC that “Diane is going through a process… in relation to the investigation of an issue relating to her that’s not finally resolved yet.”
However, on 28 May the BBC revealed that “The Labour investigation into Diane Abbott over comments she made on racism was completed in December 2023,” five months before Starmer claimed the “disciplinary process” was ongoing. Abbott had been asked to undertake antisemitism training in February 2024, following which “she received an email from Labour’s chief whip acknowledging she had completed it.” The BBC’s revelation was not denied by the Labour Party or any of its representatives.
After the completion of the party’s disciplinary process, Abbott continued to be suspended from the whip in parliament, meaning she did not sit as a Labour MP. An MP without the whip cannot stand for Labour in an election. The decision on whether to restore the whip was in the hands of the party leader and the chief whip. There was widespread speculation that Starmer was refusing to restore the whip to Abbott in order to “run down the clock” to the general election to prevent her standing for re-election as a Labour candidate. Hours after the BBC revealed the disciplinary process had in fact completed, the whip was restored.
Verdict
It cannot be said that “everyone” wanted the process to be speeded up when it was Starmer who left the matter unresolved for months.
We emailed Yvette Cooper’s office and Labour offering them the chance to respond. We received no response.
We also emailed Diane Abbott offering her the opportunity to respond, she replied “Thank you for the courtesy of informing me of the content of your piece. I am frequently taken aback by the number of your colleagues in the press who neglect to do so. However, I do not wish to comment on the content of the piece at this time. I hope you will understand.”