Ex-MP Emma Dent Coad barred by Labor from standing for election to her old seat

Left winger John McDonnell has urged Keir Starmer to "intervene urgently and ensure a fair process" in the selection of election candidates - like Ms Dent Coad called it 'not fit for purpose'

Former Labor MP Emma Dent Coad (

Image: PA Archives/PA Images)

Left-winger Emma Dent Coad has said she is 'devastated' after being barred from standing as a parliamentary candidate in Kensington.

The former Labor MP - who lost her seat in the 2019 general election - criticized the party and said the selection process was 'not fit for purpose'.

Campaign group Momentum said the decision was a 'travesty of justice', while former shadow chancellor John McDonnell urged Keir Starmer to 'intervene urgently and ensure a fair process' in the selections .

Mr. McDonnell said the blocking of Ms Dent Coad was 'one of the most shameful acts I have witnessed in my 50 years as a member of Labour'.

It comes after some MPs also criticized the decision to bar Maurice Mcleod from standing as a candidate in Camberwell and Peckham - the seat that will be vacated by Labor MP Harriet Harman in the next election.

He said this weekend: "I'm gutted. The party says there's no place for an anti-racist socialist like me in parliament."

It is understood Ms Dent Coad was interviewed by party officials on Friday to make the long list - the process before members select the constituency's next Labor parliamentary candidate.

But the party told him that his candidacy would not be considered due to concerns over his previous social media posts.

In a statement on Monday, the former Labor MP said: "I am devastated that the Labor Party has prevented me from standing to represent my community in Parliament again, the community I have spent the last 20 years of my life fighting for.

“I am angry that local members and our local community in Kensington have been denied the opportunity to vote in a free and fair competition, which has been sacrificed in the name of factional scheming of Labor officials.”