Labour party

[~ True Legend ~]

@Shortie this may be of interest to you

Sir Keir Starmer has denied he is targeting left-wing Labour MPs after Diane Abbott was suspended following comments about racism.

Keir Starmer denies targeting Labour left-wingers after Abbott suspended

Diane Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn, two leading left-wing MPs, have been suspended from Labour by Sir Keir.

www.bbc.co.uk

Ms Abbott apologised, claiming she had mistakenly sent an early version of her comments.

Sir Keir said she was suspended over antisemitism.

Ms Abbott, who was shadow home secretary under Jeremy Corbyn, and made history as the UK's first black female MP in 1987, apologised for her comments.
She claimed she had sent an early draft of her letter to the Observer in error.

In a statement, Ms Abbott said: "I wish to wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks and disassociate myself from them.

"Racism takes many forms, and it is completely undeniable that Jewish People have suffered its monstrous effects, as have Irish people, Traveller and many others."
Left-wing activist group Momentum have called for Ms Abbott to be reinstated as a Labour MP.

In statement, the group said: "Diane was right to apologise for her comments this morning. The Party should now accept the apology and restore the whip."

Labour critics of Ms Abbott have not reached a consensus on what should happen next.

Some say her comments are part of a pattern of recent behaviour and want the suspension of the whip to stay in place to prevent her standing as a Labour candidate at the next general election.

Others, though, are concerned she could become a "martyr" of the party's left wing. The preferred course for them is that she agrees to stand down at the next election and the whip is restored.

But there is no indication that Ms Abbott would be willing to do so.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

First, the bias was in favour of the Tories with Simon Case. Now, looks like the bias of the partygate has transferred over to Labour, as Sue Gray takes up a job with Labour.

Former civil servant Sue Gray has chosen not to be interviewed as part of a Cabinet Office inquiry into talks with Labour about a senior party role, a minister has said.

Sue Gray chose not to engage with Labour job inquiry, minister says

The Cabinet Office updates MPs on the circumstances around her talks about a senior Labour role.

www.bbc.com

Ms Gray quit the civil service after being offered a job as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff.

A government appointments committee is investigating whether she breached civil service rules over the move.

Earlier, Sir Keir said he was confident Ms Gray had not broken any rules.

Ms Gray has held some of the most senior roles in the civil service and is best known for leading an investigation into the Partygate scandal, which contributed to Boris Johnson's downfall as prime minister last year.

On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden issued a written statement to the House of Commons containing an update into the circumstances leading to Ms Gray's resignation.

In the statement, Mr Dowden said: "Ms Gray was given the opportunity to make representations as part of this process but chose not to do so."

The internal investigation by the Cabinet Office is separate to an inquiry by the independent Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which will provide the final judgement on Ms Gray's departure.

Acoba is to recommend how long Ms Gray should wait before being allowed to take up the job with Labour.

The BBC has been told that Ms Gray's focus is on Acoba and she has "fully cooperated" with them and "given them all the details requested".

Under the civil service code, officials of Ms Gray's seniority must wait a minimum of three months before taking up outside employment.

Senior civil servants, as well as ministers, are expected to check with Acoba about any employment they wish to take within two years of leaving government.

Acoba provides advice and can recommend a delay of up to two years in starting a new job, but it has no power to block appointments.

However, Labour has said the party and Ms Gray will abide by its recommendations.

Labour has insisted it did not approach Ms Gray until after her Partygate report was published.

But Mr Johnson and his allies have seized on Labour's job offer to claim Ms Gray's investigation when he was in power was an attempt to smear him.

A long delay could hamper attempts to have Ms Gray in place well before the next general election, which is widely expected next year, to help Labour prepare for government if it wins power.