Labor has no plans to end the expulsion of Diane Abbott from the party

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Labor has no plans to end Diane Abbott’s suspension despite calls for her reinstatement following the Tory donor row, HuffPost UK has learned.

The Hackney MP lost the party leadership almost a year ago after suggesting in a letter to The Observer that Jews, Irish and Travelers had never been “subjected to racism”.

She later apologized “unreservedly” for any “heartache” and said she had retracted the comments.

A Labor spokeswoman said at the time her comments were “deeply offensive and wrong”.

Abbott, the first black woman elected to parliament in 1987, has sat as an independent MP ever since.

It is understood the Labor leader’s investigation into her behavior is ongoing and there is no immediate prospect of the whip being handed back to her.

Calls for her reinstatement have mounted in recent days after the Guardian reported that Frank Hester, the Tories’ biggest donor, said she made him want to “hate all black women” and “get shot.”

Abbott said the comments were “appalling” and called on Keir Starmer to give her “public support”.

The Labor leader said: “The comments about Diane Abbott are simply abhorrent. Diane was a trailblazer.”

Former shadow chancellor Ed Balls yesterday called on Starmer to bring Abbott back into the Labor party, saying she should be “supported and defended” by the party hierarchy.

He said: “She was suspended from the PLP (Parliamentary Labor Party) a year ago for saying something she probably shouldn’t have said and she apologized for it.

“The fact that she is still outside the PLP a year later, my personal opinion is that she should be brought back after this apology and that she should be supported and defended rather than left alone, which is currently the case Case is.”

John McDonnell, another former shadow chancellor, said: “Members of the left, right and center of the Labor Party are calling for Diane Abbott to get the whip back.”

“She made a mistake. She apologized quickly and profusely. She should be treated the same as others who have been through this and get the whip back.”

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