The Labour Party have suspended Diane Abbott after the former shadow home secretary suggested that Jewish people do not experience racism.

The MP argued that minority groups ‚such as Jewish people, as well as Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people faced similar levels of prejudice to people with red hair as opposed to black people.

The comments were quickly condemned by senior Conservatives and faith groups.

Abbott has now issued an apology on Twitter, claiming her comments were made in error.

She says an initial draft of her thoughts had been sent for publication by accident, yet still faced swift removal by her party who suspended the party whip and launched an investigation.

This now means that Abbott will sit in parliament as an independent MP, alongside her close ally Jeremy Corbyn.

Abbott's removal stemmed from a letter sent to the Observer, which responded to an article that was published the previous week entitled: ‚Racism in Britain is not a black and white issue. It's far more complicated.

Abbott took issue with the author, who referenced a study that found Irish, Jewish, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people had reported suffering from racism.

Billed as the most comprehensive account of racial inequality in Britain for more than 25 years, the survey found that more than 60% of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people, and more than 55% of Jews, reported having experienced a racist assault.

Abbott's letter then said that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people “undoubtedly experience prejudice, but added, "This is similar to racism and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable"

She continued: "It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. But they are not all their lives subject to racism.”

Abbott compared their plight with that of Black people, saying that Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers were not required to sit at the back of buses, or trafficked and placed into manacles on slave ships. She also said that these groups also had the ability to vote.

She has since withdrawn her controversial remarks and, in a new statement, has said that Jewish people, Irish people and Travellers, have suffered the monstrous effects of racism.[caption id="attachment_31964" align="aligncenter" width="1920"]

Diane Abbott's apology statement[/caption]