Diane Abbott returns to Labour following year-long suspension over antisemitism row

Diane Abbott has returned to the Labour Party after her year-long suspension over an antisemitism row was lifted.

Sir Keir Starmer booted the Mother of the House out of his party first in April 2023 when the MP for Hackney North & Stoke Newington suggested Irish, Jewish and Travellers were not subjected to racism.

Instead, she said they experienced "prejudice" which she described as "similar to racism". The MP rescinded her comments after they sparked fury within her party and beyond.

In 2025, when she was asked if she regretted the controversial statement, she doubled down on her 2023 comments, responding: "No, not at all."

She said: "Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you don’t know [the background of the person].

"You don’t know unless you stop to speak to them or you’re in a meeting with them.

"But if you see a Black person walking down the street, you see straight away that they’re Black. They are different types of racism."

In a statement today, Ms Abbott said: "Today, following a process conducted in line with party rules and approved by the independent review process I have been readmitted to the Labour Party.

"I have been issued with a formal warning for a tweet I previously posted. By inadvertently referring to the Israeli Defence Force as the "Jewish Defence Force", I used wording that conflates the actions of the state of Israel with the Jewish community.

"I am deeply sorry for any hurt caused by that conflation and apologise for any hurt caused by it.

"I have been and remain and life-long anti-racist and remain deeply committed to opposing racism in all its forms."

Ms Abbott sat as an Independent MP, alongside fellow Labour alumni Jeremy Corbyn, Karl Turner, Rosie Duffield and Joani Reid.

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Ms Reid, who resigned the whip earlier this year after her husband was arrested on suspicion of spying for China, has also had the whip restored.

Ms Abbott was welcomed back into the party following the conclusion of a year-long internal disciplinary probe into the antisemitism row.

Sir Keir previously readmitted her into the party ahead of the 2024 General Election, and then she was "administratively suspended" last year.

The final decision fell into the hands of Mr Burnham's new Chief Whip, Anneliese Midgley.

"Once she has her membership back I’d imagine Andy will give her the whip back pretty sharpish," a Labour insider told The Sun earlier today.

"Keir waited months before doing it the first time, but the new regime want to keep people onside."

Mr Turner and Ms Duffield have also been rumoured to make a comeback to the party.

Ms Duffield, who left the party after she said she felt hounded for her views on gender, revealed to GB News she was "having chats" about possibly returning to the ranks once Mr Burnham entered No10.