A "race-baiting" Labour MP who shared a social media post accusing Kemi Badenoch of standing for "white supremacy in blackface" has been refused removal of the whip by Sir Keir Starmer.Dawn Butler uploaded remarks on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday, calling Mrs. Badenoch's election as the leader of the Conservative Party a "victory for racism." Nigerian journalist Nels Abbey wrote the post that Ms. Butler shared, which included "tips for surviving the immediate surge of Badenochism (i.e. white supremacy in blackface)".Ms Butler has since deleted the post, but Kwasi Kwarteng, who was Britain’s first black chancellor, led calls for her suspension.

Labour sources noted the post was quickly taken down by Ms Butler and pointed to Sir Keir saying that Mrs Badenoch becoming the first black leader of a British party was “a proud moment for our country”.But speaking on The Camilla Tominey Show on GB News, Mr Kwarteng said the comments were “really hateful”.

“On a personal level I’ve always got on with her, but her race-baiting is completely crazy,” he said. “And you can imagine that if Kemi had lost, she’d have said exactly the same thing. She’d have said ‘of course Kemi lost, because the Tories are racist and Britain is racist’... In their logic, they put everything through the prism of race-baiting and divisiveness.“I genuinely think that given what she said, she should have the whip removed from her. There should be some discipline and some disciplinary measure against this kind of really hateful divisiveness.

”Rupa Huq, another Labour MP, was suspended from the party in 2022 after saying Mr Kwarteng was “superficially black”. She regained the whip six months later after apologising for her comments and undergoing anti-racism training.

Mr Kwarteng added: “I think its in a way what Dawn has said is worse, because she’s accusing Kemi, unbelievably, of being a front for white supremacy. Everything that happens, they try to put it through the same channel, regardless of the circumstances.”

Nadhim Zahawi, a former Tory chancellor, shared two social media posts calling Ms Butler’s comments “vicious” and “shameful”.

Over the weekend, Ben Obese-Jecty, a black Tory MP who was elected in Huntingdon at the general election, also urged Sir Keir to suspend Ms Butler, saying he should not let her remarks slide.

Mrs Badenoch, a staunch opponent of identity politics, said her election as Tory leader showed “it doesn’t matter who you are” in Britain.

“I think that the best thing will be when we get to the point where the colour of your skin is no more remarkable than the colour of your eyes or the colour of your hair,” she told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

“We live in a multi-racial country, and that is great, but we have to work very hard to make sure it doesn’t become something divisive, where people see themselves as part of groups rather than all being British.

“So when I hear people say ‘isn’t this remarkable, we have a black female leader of the Conservative Party’, I’m glad because it shows that my country and my party are actually places where it doesn’t matter who you are, what you look like – it’s about what the offer is.”

Labour sources added that Sir Keir was looking forward to working with Mrs Badenoch “in the interests of the British people”.

Ellie Reeves, who chairs the party, said: “I am proud that she is the first black woman to lead a political party in Westminster.”