Diane Abbott returns to Labour after suspension

Diane Abbott has been readmitted to the Labour Party after a year-long suspension, allowing one of the party’s most prominent left-wing MPs to sit again as a Labour MP.

Labour confirmed Thursday that Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, had been readmitted to the parliamentary party after what it described as an independent process. A party spokesperson said Abbott had “apologised” and that decisions on membership had been taken “independently of the leadership and political interference.”

Abbott said on X that the process had been “conducted in line with party rules and approved by the independent review process.” She said she had been “issued with a formal warning” over a post in which she referred to the Israel Defense Forces as the “Jewish Defence Force.”

“I used wording that conflates the actions of the state of Israel with the Jewish community,” Abbott wrote. “I am deeply sorry for any hurt caused by that conflation and apologise for any hurt caused by it.”

She added: “I have been and remain a lifelong anti-racist and remain deeply committed to opposing racism in all of its forms.”

Abbott, Britain’s first Black female MP when she was elected in 1987 and the country’s longest-serving female MP, had been sitting as an independent since her second suspension in July 2025. That suspension followed a BBC interview in which she said she did not regret earlier comments made in a 2023 letter to the Observer. In that letter, Abbott wrote that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people “undoubtedly experience prejudice” but “they are not all their lives subject to racism.”

She was first suspended over that letter in 2023, then readmitted to Labour shortly before the 2024 general election. Her remarks in the BBC interview led to renewed disciplinary action.

Abbott’s case had split opinion inside and outside Labour. Some Labour MPs had called for her return, and more than 38,000 people signed a petition supporting her reinstatement. Jewish groups had raised concerns before the decision was confirmed.

The Board of Deputies said Abbott’s case was “an early test of resolve for the Burnham administration.” It said it was “hard to conceive of the whip being restored unless there is clear and sustained evidence of genuine remorse, a proper understanding of why those comments were so hurtful, and an unequivocal recognition that antisemitism is racism.”

The Jewish Leadership Council said the prime minister “must explain how returning that whip to Diane Abbott is consistent with this zero tolerance approach to antisemitism.”

Labour also readmitted Joani Reid, the MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven. Reid had said in March that she had “voluntarily” suspended herself after her husband, David Taylor, was arrested on suspicion of spying for China. Taylor and two other men were arrested and later released on police bail, which was extended in May until August.

Responding to her readmission, Reid said she was “excited to play a full part in supporting our new prime minister.” She added: “I have never been part of a police investigation, as a suspect or as a witness, and I am pleased that this has now been recognised.”

Two Labour MPs remain suspended. Karl Turner was suspended in March for making “uncollegiate” comments about colleagues, BBC News reported, though Turner has said his suspension was linked to his criticism of government policy on jury trials. Dan Norris, the MP for North East Somerset and Hanham, was suspended after being arrested on suspicion of sexual offences.