A Labour MP has been criticised after appearing to accuse Kemi Badenoch of representing “white supremacy in blackface”.
Brent MP Dawn Butler reshared a post appearing to condone comments which referred to Mrs Badenoch’s election as a “victory for racism”.
Ms Badenoch won the race to be Tory leader on Saturday after beating Robert Jenrick, making her the first black woman to lead a major British political party.
A now-deleted repost on X shared by Ms Butler suggested Ms Badenoch was a “prominent member of white supremacy’s black collaborator class”, The Telegraph reported.
In a so-called ‘tips for surviving a Kemi Badenoch victory’, the post stated that “Badenochism” was “white supremacy in blackface,” and that a victory for the Tory party leader was a “once inconceivable victory for racism”.
The post reshared by Ms Butler was posted by Nels Abbey, a London-based writer.
The remarks were a marked contrast to Labour Party leader Sir Keir Stamer’s congratulations towards Ms Badenoch upon her victory in the Tory Party leadership.
Sir Keir called it a “proud moment” for Britain, writing on X: “Congratulations, Kemi Badenoch on becoming the Conservative Party's new leader.
"The first Black leader of a Westminster party is a proud moment for our country.
"I look forward to working with you and your party in the interests of the British people."
Conservative Huntingdon MP Ben Obese-JectyIt said: “It never takes much for Labour’s mask to slip.
“Dawn Butler is not alone on the Government benches in holding this view of Kemi.
“This will be a test to see whether Keir Starmer removes the whip, or effectively condones Butler’s abhorrent approval of this smear?”
Ms Badenoch becomes the fourth female Tory leader, following in the footsteps of her political heroine Margaret Thatcher, as well as the more recent leaders Theresa May and Liz Truss.
While 1922 Committee chairman Bob Blackman hailed her election as "another glass ceiling shattered", she made no mention of her race or gender in her victory speech, instead focusing on her task of charting a path back to power for her party.
While the Conservatives have had four female leaders, including three of their last five, the Labour Party has so far had no permanent female leaders.
Ms Badenoch paid tribute to Mr Jenrick in her victory speech and acknowledged that her party had a "huge job" ahead of it, and needed to be "honest" about where it had "made mistakes".
She said: "The task that stands before us is tough but simple.
"Our first responsibility as His Majesty's loyal Opposition is to hold this Labour Government to account.
"Our second is no less important.
“It is to prepare over the course of the next few years for government, to ensure that by the time of the next election, we have not just a clear set of Conservative pledges that appeal to the British people, but a clear plan for how to implement them, a clear plan to change this country by changing the way that government works."
