Debbie Abrahams has been forced to step aside from her role as shadow secretary of state for work and pensions pending an investigation by the Labour Party into claims she has been bullying staff, according to media reports.
Abrahams has been replaced by Margaret Greenwood, Labour MP for Wirral West, a former DWP shadow minister, pending the investigation.
The LabourList website has reported that Abrahams rejects the claims and says she has been forced to stand aside pending the investigation. She says she has not received details of the complaints against her and has not ruled out taking legal action, citing ‘aggressive, intimidating and wholly unprofessional’ treatment by individuals in the Party’s Leaders’ Office.
The suspension follows last month’s resignation of Labour pensions shadow Alex Cunningham MP after he defied the party whip over a vote on relations with the European Union. Cunningham was replaced by former union leader Jack Dromey MP.