Diane Abbott suspended by Labour over comments on racism

Diane Abbott has had the Labour whip suspended after comments she made suggesting Jewish, Irish and Traveller people are not subject to racism “all their lives”. Ms Abbott wrote in a letter in The Observer that although white people “with points of difference” suffer prejudice, they have not suffered the same racism as black people. She later apologised for any “anguish” caused, suggesting “errors arose” in her initial draft letter to the newspaper following a huge backlash. However, Labour confirmed that the whip has been suspended from her pending an investigation into the letter. .