Diane Abbott has been readmitted to the Labour Party more than a year after her suspension over an antisemitism row. Parliament's longest-serving female MP was kicked out of the party in July 2025 after defending previous comments about racism.
Joani Reid also reinstated
Labour MP Joani Reid has also been readmitted. She had sat as an independent since March after voluntarily suspending herself when her husband was arrested on suspicion of spying for China.
A Labour spokesperson said both women would be readmitted into the parliamentary party, meaning they can sit as Labour MPs again.
Background to Abbott's suspension
Abbott was suspended from the Labour backbenches in July 2025 after she defended earlier comments. In a 2023 letter to The Observer, she argued people of colour experience racism “all their lives” and said this was different from the “prejudice” faced by Jewish people, Irish people and Travellers. She apologised at the time and was suspended for a year.
In a BBC Radio 4 interview last year, Abbott said she did not look back with regret. 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.'
Abbott's statement on readmission
In a post on X, Abbott wrote: '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.' She said she had been 'issued with a formal warning for a tweet I previously posted', in which she referred to the Israel Defense Forces as the 'Jewish Defence Force'.
Abbott added: '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.' She also said: 'I have been and remain a lifelong anti-racist and remain deeply committed to opposing racism in all of its forms.'
