Labour is facing renewed calls for Diane Abbott to be allowed back into the party after a Tory donor racism row.
The Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP lost the whip last year after writing a letter to a newspaper suggesting Jewish, Irish and Traveller people are not subject to racism “all their lives”.
The former shadow home secretary, Britain’s first black female MP, remains a party member but has sat as an independent MP while an internal investigation of her comments continues.
But the furore over alleged comments made about her by Conservative donor Frank Hester has sparked fresh demands for the whip to be returned.
The businessman reportedly said she made him want to “hate all black women” and “should be shot”.
But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has so far resisted calls to return the whip to Ms Abbott.
On Thursday, he said her suspension from the Parliamentary Labour Party was “an entirely different issue” and subject to an independent process that was separate from him.
A number of backbenchers have been outspoken with Apsana Begum insisting Ms Abbott should “absolutely” have the whip restored.
She told BBC Newsnight: “Diane Abbott is a trailblazer. She is one of the strongest and most powerful advocates for the British black community. She is a hero of the anti-racist struggle.
“All of this needs to be recognised. She has had a tremendous parliamentary career to date and she should have the whip restored.”
Mr Hester has admitted making “rude” comments about Ms Abbott, but claimed they had “nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”.
