A Labour MP suspended from the party for racially abusing a journalist went on to charge taxpayers for an anti-racism awareness course, The Independent can reveal.
Neil Coyle – welcomed back into the party by Sir Keir Starmer in May – put a £295 unconscious bias course on expenses.
Critics said it was “outrageous” and “beyond the pale” for the MP to bill taxpayers for his attempt to make amends, and he now faces calls for a fresh suspension.
Labour MP Kim Johnson said it was “an outrage for Neil Coyle to charge the taxpayer in his attempt to atone for his racist and abusive behaviour”, adding: “It begs the question – is he committed to learning his lesson?”
The left-winger called on Sir Keir to act against Mr Coyle. “Given he is clearly not prepared to take responsibility for his actions, Labour should seriously reconsider removing the whip again.”
Expensing his anti-racism training course, carried out in January 2023, has caused deep unease among Mr Coyle’s colleagues. “It’s not a good look – it doesn’t show contrition,” one senior Labour MP told The Independent.
They added: “It looks like someone who has gone through the motions. There needs to be penance – and you have to foot the bill for the penance.”
Rachel Bentley, a Lib Dem councillor who will fight for Mr Coyle’s Bermondsey and Old Southwark seat at the next general election, said she “could not imagine” why he thought it was acceptable to expense the course.
“It shouldn’t be something that the taxpayers should be footing,” she said. “He has shown contrition, certainly publicly, and I’m assuming taking that course was part of that. But absolutely, there’s no logic for that being borne by the taxpayer.”
The original drunken incident – in which Mr Coyle made Sinophobic remarks about political reporter Henry Dyer – took place at a House of Commons bar on 1 February 2022, Chinese New Year.
The journalist said the pair had been discussing Barry Gardiner, the Labour MP who received funds from a suspected Chinese spy, when Mr Coyle said his colleague had been “paid by Fu Manchu” – a cartoon villain that draws on traditional Chinese stereotypes.
The journalist said that told Mr Coyle that a reference to a “Chinese trope” was not appropriate and noted that he was British-Chinese.
The Labour politician then told him his heritage was apparent “from how you look like you’ve been giving renminbi [Chinese currency] to Barry Gardiner”.
As he left the bar that night, Mr Dyer said he wanted to defuse the tension with Mr Coyle, so waved him goodbye. He said the MP responded by sticking two fingers up at him.
Mr Coyle was suspended that month. He took the anti-racism training course on 27 January this year and a few months later, in May, Sir Keir restored the whip.
Neil Coyle also hired PR support before he had whip restored
The unconscious bias course, run by Equality and Diversity UK, promises to explain “how we can overcome our unconscious biases to improve decision making and professional relationships”.
The six-hour course promises to help attendees understand how unconscious biases “impact their working lives” and “become more aware, less biased and more inclusive”. Covered topics include the legal implications of bias in the workplace and case studies and examples of unconscious bias.
Mr Coyle told The Independent the course was for himself and a staff member, but Equality and Diversity UK’s website states that the course is £295 per delegate.
“Anyone who thinks all MPs are perfect and don’t need any training is not living in the real world frankly,” he said. “I encourage my whole team to undergo training and would be a hypocrite if I didn’t do it myself.”
Labour MP Kim Johnson has called on Keir Starmer to consider fresh suspension
