Diane Abbott, Parliament's longest-serving female MP, has been readmitted to the Labour Party more than a year after being suspended over an antisemitism row. Labour MP Joani Reid has also been readmitted, having sat as an independent since March after her husband was arrested on suspicion of spying for China.
Readmission Details
A Labour spokesperson confirmed that both women would also rejoin the parliamentary party, allowing them to sit as Labour MPs again. Abbott was suspended from the Labour backbenches in July 2025 after defending previous comments about racism.
In a letter to The Observer in 2023, Abbott argued that people of colour experience racism "all their lives" and said this differs from the "prejudice" faced by Jewish people, Irish people, and Travellers. She apologised at the time and was suspended for a year.
Abbott's Comments and Apology
In a BBC Radio 4 interview last year, Abbott stated she did not look back with regret, saying: "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. 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." She added: "I just think that it's silly to try and claim that racism which is about skin colour is the same as other types of racism."
Following those remarks, Labour suspended Abbott pending an investigation. 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 noted 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." She said: "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."
Impact and Reactions
Abbott added: "I have been and remain a lifelong anti-racist and remain deeply committed to opposing racism in all of its forms." Joani Reid's readmission follows her voluntary suspension after her husband's arrest on espionage charges. Both MPs now return to the Labour fold, ending months of uncertainty.
