Labour MP Dawn Butler has written to Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson demanding that Zia Yusuf retract and apologise for remarks about Camden Council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali, which Butler described as “vile and racist”.
Butler, writing in her capacity as chair of the London Parliamentary Labour Party, said London Labour MPs were “shocked and appalled” by Yusuf’s comments about Abdi-Wali, who is among those being discussed as a possible Labour candidate in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
Yusuf, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, wrote on X that the reported Labour frontrunner “was born in Somalia”, before asking: “Do you understand what’s happening?” His post prompted widespread criticism and accusations of racism.
In her letter to Anderson, Butler stressed that Abdi-Wali came to Britain as a child refugee, has lived in the country for decades and has built a record of public service in Camden.
Butler wrote:
“To suggest that her place of birth should somehow determine whether she is fit to represent Holborn and St Pancras in Parliament is deeply offensive, divisive and wrong.”
She added that Labour believed Yusuf’s post was racist “in the strongest possible terms” and called on him to apologise and retract his remarks.
Butler also urged Reform UK to take action, warning that failure to do so risked sending “a clear message that such comments and behaviour are accepted within your party”.
The row follows reports that Abdi-Wali is considering seeking Labour’s nomination following Keir Starmer’s resignation as MP for Holborn and St Pancras. She became a Camden councillor in 2022 and was elected leader of the council earlier this year.
A number of political commentators and Labour figures have criticised Yusuf’s intervention. Journalist Dan Hodges described the remarks as “simply racism”, while Labour NEC member Abdi Duale also publicly condemned the post.
Butler said Labour’s approach to public service was fundamentally different.
“In the Labour Party, people seeking to represent their communities are judged on their character, their record and their contribution to their communities – not on where they were born.”
She added that London’s diversity was a source of strength and said politicians had a responsibility to “stand united against hate and division”.
The intervention places further pressure on Reform’s leadership to respond directly to Yusuf’s remarks as campaigning begins to gather pace ahead of the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
