Labour Party apologises to Kate Osborne after Jarrow MP erroneously sent investigation notice over ‘breach of party rules’

In a statement released via her official Twitter account, Ms Osborne said that on the morning of Friday, September 17, she was notified of an investigation into her conduct by the national party “making serious allegations of breach of the Party Rules”.

It continued: “I was shocked and unnerved by getting such a letter and was puzzled at what the Party was saying about me.

"I thought my job as an MP was on the line and that I faced public shaming in front of my constituents, as some will always say ‘there's no smoke without fire’.

"Well there is. The charges were completely baseless. The evidence relied on made no sense. There never was anything that was a breach of the rules.”

The Jarrow MP says Labour then rescinded the disciplinary probe, only a matter of hours after putting her on notice of the investigation.

Ms Osborne added that, once legal advice had been consulted and the investigation notice had been met with ‘a very strongly worded letter’, the probe was dropped shortly thereafter.

The statement added: “I was told I could not discuss the matter with anyone except the Samaritans.

“Luckily I had access to immediate legal advice and my solicitor wrote a very strongly worded letter utterly rejecting the allegations.

"Shortly after the legal letter the Party withdrew the investigation claiming it was an ‘administrative error’ and apologised for the mistake and the distress it had caused me.”

Labour has apologised to the Jarrow MP and is understood to be investigating the incident.

"This should not have happened,” a party spokesperson told The Gazette.

"We have rescinded the notice and apologised to Kate."

Tensions between various Labour factions are reaching a new apex, ahead of Keir Starmer’s belated first conference as party leader at the end of this month.

The other borough MP, South Shields’ Emma Lewell-Buck, recently called for Labour to leave aside its warring factionalism after the party lost a North-East heartland territory in the disastrous Hartlepool by-election, amid a renewed flare-up of recriminations and wider in-fighting.

Ms Osborne’s office has been contacted for further comment.

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