Nadia Whittome: Labour MP ordered to delete tweet which claimed Sunak election ‘isn’t a win for Asian representation’

A spokesman for Sir Keir Starmer has now confirmed she was instructed to remove it
Lydia Chantler-Hicks27 October 2022
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A Labour MP was told to delete a tweet which said Rishi Sunak becoming Prime Minister “isn’t a win for Asian representation”.

Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East, removed her tweet after it drew backlash on social media.

A spokesman for Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has now confirmed she was instructed to remove it.

Earlier on Wednesday, Sir Keir refused to say whether he personally weighed in on the matter.

On Sky News on Wednesday afternoon, a reporter asked the Labour leader: “Your spokesperson says [Ms Whittome] was told to delete the tweet. Was that your instruction?”

Sir Keir responded: “Let me be very clear with you about the position fo the Labour Party. I was able to say that at Prime Minister’s Questions, which was to welcome the first Asian prime minister as a real milestone for our country.

“It shows that in Britain, whatever your race, whatever your beliefs, your dream can come true.”

He added: “[Rishi Sunak and I] had a private call last night and the first thing I did was to congratulate him for being a prime minister of British Asian descent, and it’s really, really important that I did that.”

But Sir Keir refused to be drawn on whether he asked Ms Whittome to delete her tweet.

Pressed by Sky News, he said: “The position of the labour party is the position that I have set out. the whole Labour Party supports that, and we’re very, very pleased to do that.”

Rishi Sunak took office on Tuesday, becoming the UK’s first Asian and first Hindu Prime Minister in what has widely been hailed a “historic moment”.

In a now-deleted tweet, Ms Whittome wrote: “Rishi Sunak as prime minister isn’t a win for Asian representation.

“He’s a multi-millionaire who, as chancellor, cut taxes on bank profits while overseeing the biggest drop in living standards since 1956. Black, white or Asian: if you work for a living, he is not on your side.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in