Confusion over Diane Abbott’s future

Sadiq Khan says he knows nothing about the situation other than what is being reported in the media, reports Noah Vickers, local democracy reporter

Diane Abbott could still be Labour’s candidate in the Hackney North general election, Sadiq Khan has suggested, while claiming questions about her being banned from standing are “hypothetical”.

It came as Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer said “no decision has been made” to ban her from running, leaving open the possibility that she could still be their candidate on July 4.

Asked about the matter on Wednesday (29), Khan said he could not be sure what to make of the media’s reporting of the issue – and had not spoken to the National Labor Executive Committee (NEC) to get a definitive version of events.

Abbott had told him Evening Standard on Wednesday morning that reports of her being banned from renewing were “true.”

In a statement to broadcasters – reported in The guardian – she was even more adamant, saying: “Although the whip has been restored, I’m banned because I’m a Labor candidate.”

Sir Keir told the BBC on Wednesday that this was “not true”, saying: “The process we were going through ended with the restoration of the whip the other day, so she is a member of the PLP (Parliamentary Labor Party) and no decision has been made which to exclude it”.

Khan also hinted that the matter may not yet be resolved, though he did not claim to have any particular insight into the case.

“All I know about Diana’s case is what I’ve seen in the press,” he said. “The media is saying that Diane has had her whip reinstated, but the media is also saying that the NEC has yet to decide what happens with Diane.”

Labor withdrew the whip in April 2023 from the veteran MP after she wrote Observatory newspaper that Jews, Irish and Travelers experienced prejudice but not racism all their lives. She apologized and retracted her remarks soon after.

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BBC Newsnight reported that Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) wrote to Abbott in December 2023 to say it had closed an investigation into her comments and gave her a formal warning about them.

According to Newsnight, the MP was required to complete an “anti-Semitism awareness course”, which he did in February. It was then revealed that the whip had been returned to him on Tuesday.

Asked if it would be right for her to now be banned from standing, given that she is said to have done what Labor asked of her, the mayor said: “We are talking about hypotheticals. I will not comment on hypotheticals.”

Asked about Abbott’s claim to journalists that it was banned, Mr Khan said: “I have not spoken to the NEC about that position. But the NEC and the media say no position has been taken.

“So you can cherry-pick quotes from the media, but you reinforce my point about (how) all I know is what I’ve seen in the media.”

He also told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “What I do know, as someone who has known Diane well since 2005, is that she is a trailblazer. I remember as a 16-year-old boy, I saw her elected in 1987, along with Bernie Grant, Paul Boateng and Keith Vaz. It had a huge impact on me.

“I must be one of the millions of people she has had a huge impact on – in a positive way.”

He added: “She’s been a mentor to a lot of us, but she’s also stood up to issues that aren’t very popular — issues of racial justice, social justice, highlighting some of the discrimination when it comes to stop and search, when it comes to excluding black boys from school, when it comes to the NHS.

“So I think he is someone who has done an enormous amount for Hackney, for London, for our country, and so I think it’s very important that he is given the respect that he deserves.”

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