Bermondsey and Old Southwark MP Neil Coyle has whip suspended after claims of racial slurs

Bermondsey and Old Southwark MP Neil Coyle has had the whip suspended by the Labour Party after allegations he made racist comments.

Political journalist Henry Dyer, who works for Business Insider website, has made a formal complaint to the speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and the parliamentary authorities about the MP’s alleged Sinophobic words.

Mr Dyer, who is of British-Chinese heritage, says Mr Coyle used racial slurs and made him feel uncomfortable at an incident in a Commons bar.

Following his suspension, Mr Coyle, who won the seat from Simon Hughes in 2015, said: “I’m very sorry for my insensitive comments,  have apologised to everyone involved and will be cooperating fully with the investigation.”

Mr Coyle told Mr Dyer he looked like he was involved in giving money to the Labour MP Barry Gardiner, who received large sums from a woman who later was accused of being a Chinese agent.

But Mr Dyer’s colleague at the website Cat Neilan said the apology had not been sent to Mr Dyer, or anyone in their team.

The serjeant at arms, who is responsible for order among MPs, has also instructed Coyle should be suspended from bars in the Commons for six months and the Lords.

A Labour spokesman said: “The Labour Party expects the highest standards of behaviour from all our MPs and we take allegations of this sort very seriously.

“Accordingly the chief whip has now suspended the Labour whip from Neil Coyle pending an investigation.”

Writing on Business Insider, Mr Dyer said the MP made a racially insensitive remark during a conversation in the Strangers’ Bar about Barry Gardiner, the Labour MP who received funding from a suspected Chinese spy.

Mr Dyer claims Mr Coyle used a racial stereotype, a comment the journalist says “struck me at the time as not right”.

He says he “gently pushed back at Coyle about this” but the MP suggested he was being “over-sensitive”.

Mr Dyer added: “I responded by saying that I am British-Chinese, to which Coyle responded that he could tell, ‘from how you look like you’ve been giving renminbi [the Chinese currency] to Barry Gardiner.'”

Mr Dyer says as he left the bar later that evening he waved at Mr Coyle to “defuse the tension” but the MP responded by “putting two fingers up at me”.

Later that week, Mr Dyer reported the exchange to Sir Lindsay, who he said “took immediate action”.

The Speaker is understood to be “very concerned” about the incident.