Angela Rayner 'absolutely gutted' to hear of Corbyn's suspension from Labour
29 October 2020, 21:37 | Updated: 29 October 2020, 21:52
Angela Rayner on 'shame' and 'devastation' following anti-Semitism report findings
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said she was "absolutely gutted" to find out Jeremy Corbyn was being suspended from the Labour Party.
The MP for Ashton-under-Lyne told Iain Dale she was "gutted" to hear the former Labour leader was losing the party whip because "today is not about Jeremy Corbyn, it's not about me and it's not about Keir, it's about all those people that have faced discrimination".
Ms Rayner spoke of "shame" and "devastation" following the damning findings of an investigation into anti-Semitism in Labour by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
It found the party was responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination, with Sir Keir Starmer saying its conclusions marked a "day of shame" for the party and that he is "truly sorry" for the pain caused.
Ms Rayner said Labour members were "disgusted" to see Thursday's headlines that the party had "unlawfully and indirectly discriminated and harassed people" and that it had "politically interfered with a process".
Read more: Corbyn suspended from Labour following comments on anti-Semitism report
Watch: There are 'too many racists and cranks in the party', former Labour MP says
The deputy leader told LBC these are the issues that should be discussed following the report, rather than Mr Corbyn's suspension from the party.
She explained that the decision was not made by her or the current Labour leader but added that she did believe it was "right" for Sir Keir's predecessor to have the whip removed.
The MP told Iain Dale the findings of the EHRC report were "absolutely shameful".
"We should reflect on that and that's what we should be discussing today and apologising, absolutely apologising for the way we made people feel and doubling down on our efforts to ensure that we redeem ourselves," she said.
"Keir Starmer will not get into No 10 unless we're able to recognise our failures on this and it is a catastrophic failure."
You can watch the full interview at the top of the article.
