Suspended Labour candidate says she was subjected to a ‘systematic campaign of racism, Islamophobia and bullying’

A candidate from the left-wing Labour Party who was dismissed from the party a few days ago says she was subjected to “a systematic campaign of racism, Islamophobia and harassment by sections of the party itself”.

Faiza Shaheen, who stood against former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan-Smith in Chingford and Woodford Green at the last election, said she had met with her campaign and legal teams to discuss her “next steps”.

The Labour Party has not responded to the allegations, but announced on Thursday evening that Brent councillor Shama Tatler would be its candidate in the next election.

Ms Shaheen said: “This is not the end of my story and I will make public all the details of what happened to me.”

In an online statement, she said: “This decision breaks my heart but comes as no surprise. It is the end of a systematic campaign of racism, Islamophobia and bullying by sections of the party that began when I first announced I wanted to stand for Labour again.”

Ms Shaheen’s suspension reportedly came after she allegedly liked a series of posts on X that downplayed allegations of anti-Semitism.

Ms Shaheen told BBC Newsnight she had “thought” she would be the candidate for the constituency but received an email on Wednesday evening saying she would “frustrate the aims of the Labour Party”.

According to the programme, she was summoned to a meeting with a panel of the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee on Tuesday, where she was told she held positions that raised doubts about her suitability as a candidate.

Some of her supporters have launched a campaign calling on voters to email Sir Keir Starmer and party general secretary David Evans to “reverse this decision”.