KEIR Starmer has described remarks made by one of his own MPs as “racist.”

Rupa Huq was suspended by the party on Tuesday after a recording emerged of her calling Kwasi Kwarteng “superficially” black.

She later apologised for the remarks, describing them as “ill-judged.”

In the audio, obtained by the Guido Fawkes website, Ms Huq can be heard telling the audience at a fringe event at Labour conference: “Superficially he [Mr Kwarteng] is a black man. He went to Eton, I think, he went to a very expensive prep school, all the way through, the top schools in the country.

“If you hear him on the Today programme, you wouldn’t know he is black.”

Sir Keir criticised Ms Huq this morning. 

“What she said was wrong. It was racist, and I’m very pleased the Labour Party acted as swiftly as it did,” he told Times Radio.

“We’ve now got an independent process that kicks in and the outcome will be for them. But I’m very pleased that the Labour Party under my leadership acted very, very swiftly in that particular case.”

On BBC Breakfast, Sir Keir conceded it was “frustrating” to have to discuss the comments during a conference in Liverpool that has otherwise been seen as a success for Labour.

Asked if the Ealing Central and Acton MP would be permanently kicked out of the party, Sir Keir said an investigation which would now "take its course".

He said: "It's not for me to tell that independent process what they should do."

Ms Huq’s comments were criticised by Shabana Mahmood, Labour’s election chief. 

She told Times Radio: “As somebody who is a person of colour myself, I have been called a ‘coconut’ and a ‘house Muslim’ before. I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of people having expectations of what you might think or say, based on your race.”

During the fringe event Sunder Katwala, director of the British Future think tank, intervened to say that Kwarteng being a Conservative “doesn’t make him not black ... I think the Labour Party has to be very careful”.

He told the event there was a legitimate discussion to be had about whether enough black voices were being brought into politics. But he said: “You can be black and a Tory, you can be gay and a Tory.”

Ms Huq had earlier stood by the comments, telling the Guardian there had been a “massive misunderstanding, wilfully” and added: “Obviously I know you can be brown and be a Tory, I’m not that stupid.”

She later apologised fully, tweeting: “I have today contacted Kwasi Kwarteng to offer my sincere and heartfelt apologies for the comments I made at yesterday’s Labour conference fringe meeting.

“My comments were ill-judged and I wholeheartedly apologise to anyone affected.”