Diane Abbott is set to be banned from standing as a Labour candidate at the general election in a move that could spell the end of her 37-year spell as an MP.
The veteran left-winger, who has been MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987, has had the Labour whip withdrawn for more than a year.
The 70-year-old politician was suspended from Labour’s parliamentary party amid an investigation into her comments about Jewish people in a letter to a newspaper in April last year.
The saga over Ms Abbott’s political future took another twist today when it emerged the race row probed ended months ago.
It was reported that the investigation was completed in December last year with Ms Abbott given a formal warning over her conduct and told to complete an ‘antisemitism awareness course’.
Diane Abbott (pictured) will not be allowed to stand as a Labour candidate in the upcoming general election
But, according to The Times, Labour are set to announce the former shadow homes secretary still won’t be able to stand as an official party candidate on 4 July.
Instead, senior aides to Sir Keir Starmer are said to be discussing returning the Labour whip to Ms Abbott before the election to allow her to leave politics ‘with dignity’.
A ban on Ms Abbott standing for Labour at the general election is set to spark a fresh war between Sir Keir’s team and the party’s left-wing.
Supporters of Ms Abbott earlier hit out at the ‘outrageous’ treatment of Ms Abbott by Sir Keir and Labour bosses.
It also came amid a row over claims Sir Keir is lining up key allies to a string of safe seats after six current Labour MPs announced last-minute retirements.
Last week, ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn – an ally of Ms Abbott – confirmed he will run as an independent candidate after being barred from standing for the party.
Ms Abbott issued a swift apology for her remarks in April last year, after she suggested Jewish, Irish and Traveller people experience ‘prejudice’ but are not ‘subject to racism’.
She was forced to sit as an independent MP in the House of Commons while a probe was launched into her remarks.
The BBC reported that Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) wrote to Ms Abbott in December 2023 saying it had concluded its eight-month inquiry.
Ms Abbott, who has been MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987, has been suspended from the party since April last year
It issued her with a ‘formal warning’ for ‘engaging in conduct that was in the opinion of the NEC, prejudicial and grossly detrimental to the Labour Party’, it was claimed.
The NEC also reportedly said it expected Ms Abbott to undertake an ‘online, e-learning module’, which she is said to have completed in February.
Sir Keir last week refused to be drawn on whether Ms Abbott would be allowed to stand as a Labour candidate in Hackney North and Stoke Newington.
‘The NEC will be coming to decisions on the final list of candidates in due course, so you’ll see that when the decisions are taken,’ the Labour leader said on Saturday.
Labour told BBC Newsnight that it does not comment on disciplinary cases.
Sir Keir told reporters on a general election campaign visit to Stevenage this afternoon: ‘Well, the process overall is obviously a little longer than the fact finding exercise.
‘But in the end, this is a matter that will have to be resolved by the National Executive Committee, and they will do that in due course.’
The revelation sparked intense anger on Labour’s left-wing, with a spokesperson for the Momentum group saying: ‘This is outrageous news which confirms the Starmer leadership is trying to force Britain’s first black woman MP out of Parliament.
‘For months we have been told by Keir Starmer that the process is independent and it’s nothing to do with him.
‘Today’s revelation confirms this is another brazen lie from Keir Starmer – the investigation was concluded months ago, Diane remains a Labour member and the whip should already have been restored as a result.
‘Starmer’s conduct has already been insulting and demeaning to a woman he rightly called a ‘trailblazer’ – the first step to making amends is to restore the whip and let Diane run as the Labour candidate, as local members wish.’
Meanwhile, the Guardian reported that key allies of Sir Keir are expected to be lined up as candidates in a string of safe seats.
There has been a last-minute spate of Labour MPs announcing they will stand down from the Commons ahead of the 4 July general election.
They include Barbara Keeley, John Cryer, John Spellar, Virendra Sharma, Kevin Brennan and Julie Elliott.
Senior Labour figures close to Sir Keir – including NEC members – are tipped to chosen as candidates in the now-vacant seats.
