MP ‘unnerved’ by erroneous Labour Party notice of investigation

A Labour MP has revealed that she was issued a notice of investigation by the party in ‘error’ on Friday morning.

It has since been confirmed that Kate Osborne, elected MP for Jarrow in 2019, is not under investigation and the notice was an administrative error.

A Labour spokesperson said: “This should not have happened. We have rescinded the notice and apologised to Kate.”

In a statement issued via Twitter on Friday, the MP said she was “shocked and unnerved” by the letter and said the party withdrew the allegation after receiving a legal letter from her solicitors.

She went on: “An apology after the event is one thing, but the effect is awful. How many people have had similar letters but do not have access to specialist legal advice?”

The party has since paused issuing notices of investigation relating to backlog cases while it investigates how the error occurred.

Jess Barnard, the left-wing chair of Young Labour was also issued an erroneous notice of investigation the previous week.

Former shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon MP said: “How many more less-well-known left members is this happening to? This must stop.”