Facts
Approaching a year after Diane Abbott was put under investigation by the Labour Party for a letter published by the Observer on 23 April 2023, and amid a scandal over alleged comments by Conservative donor Frank Hester that Abbott “should be shot,” the media began to scrutinise Keir Starmer over why her case had dragged on so long.
Helpfully for Starmer, on 15 March 2024, The Independent’s Archie Mitchell reported that Abbott had been “offered the Labour whip back but refused because she would have had to undergo antisemitism training.”
In this version of events, Starmer was not to blame for the delay; rather the cause was Abbott’s “refusal to compromise.” Quoting an anonymous shadow minister, The Independent reported that Abbott would not undertake the requested training, “and that is why this has been going on for 10 months and not 25 minutes.” The Independent presented an MP “on the left of the party” as a second source, but this MP did not appear to add any additional information, and was quoted saying only: “I don’t know why she didn’t just do it.”
Later the same day Abbott posted on X that the report was: “A blatantly shoddy piece of journalism. I told the reporter that all the key ‘facts’ in his piece were false – on the record. Instead, he has led with the unattributable briefings from Labour party sources.”
Two-and-a-half months later, on 28 May 2024, the BBC revealed the party’s investigation into Abbott had in fact concluded in December 2023. Abbott was asked to undertake a “two-hour antisemitism awareness course.” According to the BBC, “Abbot did the module in February, after which it is understood she received an email from Labour’s chief whip acknowledging she had completed it.” The BBC’s reporting was not denied by the Labour Party or by any of its representatives.
Verdict
The anonymous Labour shadow minister peddled a falsehood to the Independent.
We emailed the Labour press office 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.”
Client journalism
This website has published many examples of client journalism from the Conservative period in government, many involving so-called ‘Tory sources.” . Here is a case study involving a journalist from the Independent who ran with a story convenient to the Labour leadership based on an anonymous and false claim.
We also emailed and text-messaged Archie Mitchell offering him the opportunity to respond. We received no answer.