Labor reinstates whip for MP suspended after accusing Israel of genocide

Kate Osamor said: “I am grateful to the Labor Party for investigating my conduct and accept its findings in full.” Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty

The Labor Party has returned the whip to an MP suspended after accusing Israel of genocide in a post about Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Kate Osamor, the MP for Edmonton in north London, was stripped of the whip in January following a reaction from Jewish leaders to remarks she made in a constituency newsletter.

But on Wednesday the Labor Party readmitted the MP to Edmonton after internal investigation because she admitted her comments were “insensitive and inappropriate.”

Her reinstatement came hours after Natalie Elphicke, a Conservative MP widely seen as on the right of the party, announced she was defecting to the Labor Party just minutes before Prime Minister's Questions.

< p>A Labor Party spokesman said: “The chief whip today returned the Labor whip to MP Kate Osamor. This follows a full investigation by the Labor Party into complaints received about a social media post she made in January.”

“I would like to once again apologize unreservedly.”

Ms Osamor said: “I am grateful to the Labor Party for its investigation into my conduct and I fully accept its findings.”

“I want to unreservedly apologize again for my comments. I made comments that were insensitive, inappropriate, for which I apologize and regret. I will continue to work with Jewish stakeholders and the community.”

She added that she is “committed to ensuring that I maintain the highest standards” and said she looks forward to continuing to represent Edmonton.

In her speech on January 26, Ms. Osamor described the Holocaust Memorial. The day is “an international day of remembrance for the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust, the millions of others killed by Nazi persecution of other groups, and the recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and now the Gaza Strip.”

She apologized for “any offense caused” after the Jewish Leadership Council said her views were offensive to both Holocaust survivors and the wider Jewish community.

The Labor Party struggled with internal tensions due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. , and the party's support among Muslim voters fell in last week's local elections amid ongoing anger over Sir Keir Starmer's initial refusal to demand a ceasefire – which he has since done.

Ten of Sir Keir's leaders were sacked or resigned in November after they broke the then party line in support of the SNP movement calling for a ceasefire.