UK left-wing MP Diane Abbott reinstated by Labour Party after suspension

Diane Abbott returns to Labour, a year after her suspension over comments about racism.Britain’s Labour Party has readmitted Diane Abbott, the country’s longest-serving female MP, ending a suspension she received under the party’s previous leadership over controversial comments she made about racism.The party confirmed on Thursday that Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, had been readmitted and had the whip restored – the formal party endorsement needed to sit as a Labour MP rather than an independent – following a process conducted under party rules and approved by an independent review board. She had been suspended in July 2025 after telling the BBC she did not regret earlier remarks suggesting Jewish, Irish and Traveller people did not experience racism in the same way as people targeted because of skin colour.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3American, Asian confederations blindsided by FIFA’s $20bn investment planlist 2 of 3Police arrest dozens at London rally supporting Palestine Actionlist 3 of 3Can the UN’s Refugee Convention survive?end of listAbbott said in a statement on social media that she had been issued a formal warning over a separate post in which she referred to “the Israeli Defence Force [the Israeli army] as the ‘Jewish Defence Force'”. She said the wording had wrongly conflated the actions of the Israeli state with the Jewish community, adding she was “deeply sorry for any hurt caused”. Joani Reid, the MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven, was also reinstated on Thursday. She had voluntarily stepped back from the party after her husband was arrested on suspicion of assisting China’s intelligence service.A Labour spokesperson said the readmission decisions had been made without input from party leadership and without political influence.They do, however, come soon after a change of leadership in the party, with Andy Burnham succeeding Keir Starmer as party leader and UK prime minister earlier this month, and seeking to distance himself from his predecessor.