C T Online Desk: Bangladeshi-origin British lawmaker Rupa Huq has been suspended from the Labour party after she was accused of making “racist” comments about Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.
Having administratively suspended pending an investigation after she claimed that the chancellor was “superficially” black, she apologized for her “ill-judged” comments.
The MP for Ealing Central and Acton made the remarks about the UK’s first black chancellor at a Labour conference fringe event on Monday entitled “What’s Next for Labour’s Agenda on Race?”, reports Sky News.
The audio clip was published by the Guido Fawkes website minutes before Sir Keir Starmer began his speech to the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.
During a question-and-answer session, she said: “He’s superficially, he’s, a black man but again he’s got more in common… he went to Eton, he went to a very expensive prep school, all the way through top schools in the country.
“If you hear him on the Today programme you wouldn’t know he’s black.”
She will now sit in the parliament as an independent, according to BBC.
“I have today (Tuesday) contacted Kwasi Kwarteng to offer my sincere and heartfelt apologies for the comments I made at yesterday’s Labour conference fringe meeting,” she posted on social media.
“My comments were ill-judged and I wholeheartedly apologise to anyone affected.”
Strong reactions
Jake Berry, the Conservative Party chairman, had condemned her “vile” comments before her suspension and urged Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, to remove the whip.
Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, told Rupa to apologise and take “immediate action” over the “completely unacceptable” remarks.
The Labour party said: “We condemn the remarks and urge her to withdraw them and apologise.”
In a letter to Sir Keir on Tuesday, Berry said the Labour leader must take action against Rupa.
David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, told the BBC that the remarks were “unfortunate” and that Rupa should “stand those comments down”.
Also speaking to the broadcaster, Rayner said: “She should apologise for those comments.
Former chancellor and Tory MP Sajid Javid said he was “appalled and saddened” by the clip adding: “Rather than give encouragement to racists and people who seek to divide us, she should know better. Not too late for her to show that she does.”
The suspension came shortly after Sir Keir finished his conference speech, which he used to argue now is a “Labour moment” for the party to provide the leadership the nation “so desperately needs”.
