The Chair of the Conservative Party has demanded answers from Labour over the party’s investigation into Diane Abbott’s alleged anti-Jewish racism.
In a letter seen by the JC, Richard Holden sought answers to what he called “false comments” over when and how the probe was completed.
Abbott, the veteran left-wing MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, the fourth-largest Jewish constituency in the country, was suspended by Labour in April 2023 for writing a letter to the Observer Newspaper and claiming that Jews did not face racism, only prejudice. She later apologised.
On 24 May, Sir Keir Starmer told LBC that the investigation into Abbott was “not yet finally resolved”. However, BBC Newsnight claimed that a disciplinary investigation into her conduct by the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee had in fact concluded in December 2023, with her given a formal warning. Abbott then completed an online antisemitism awareness course required by the party in February 2024.
