A Labour peer has been suspended from the parliamentary party after calling a candidate “frit or lazy” for withdrawing from local husting events over safety concerns.

Lord Cashman had made the comment on social media after Rosie Duffield, who is standing to be reelected as Labour MP for Canterbury, said “constant trolling” made her attendance at hustings “impossible”.

The former EastEnders actor and Labour MEP apologised “unreservedly” for the post on Sunday.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told reporters the comment was “particularly inappropriate” and the whip was withdrawn “very swiftly”.

This means Lord Cashman will sit as a crossbench peer in the House of Lords, without a party affiliation.

Ms Duffield, who has been a defender of women’s rights and female-only spaces, has previously faced death threats and multiple instances of abuse over her stance on sex and gender.

She said she would be holding “secure local events” so constituents could put their questions to her.

Ms Duffield has spoken out about feeling unsupported by Labour in the past over her views on trans issues and did not attend the 2021 Labour Party conference after online threats to her safety.

Last month, she complained that Sir Keir offered her “no apology” when the two finally spoke after she told a whip she had not been talked to in two-and-a-half years.

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