Diane Abbott has been re-admitted to the Labour Party, a party spokesman confirmed last night. Her return to the parliamentary party follows a suspension initiated in July of last year.

Abbott was suspended after reiterating comments she had previously apologized for regarding racism. In a BBC interview, the 72-year-old MP stated that prejudice faced by Jewish people was not comparable to discrimination based on color. She elaborated, "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 [what they are]. 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."

These remarks intensified pressure on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who had previously taken action against her in 2023. At that time, Abbott had apologized after writing to The Observer, suggesting that Jewish, Irish, and Traveller people experience prejudice but not racism in the same way as people of color.

Her comments to Newsnight last year, where she maintained her previous statements were "factually accurate," led to her subsequent suspension from the party.

Also returning to the parliamentary party is Joani Reid. Reid had voluntarily suspended herself in March after her husband was arrested on suspicion of spying for China. Her spouse, David Taylor, 39, was arrested along with two former Labour Party advisers on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service.

Reid stated at the time of her suspension, "This week has been the worst of my life. The shock of recent days has been difficult for me and my family. I have done nothing wrong. I want to reiterate something very important – I am not under investigation by the police and no accusations have been [made] against me."

She added, "Following discussions with the Chief Whip, I am voluntarily suspending myself from the whip... and will not sit as a Labour MP until internal investigations are concluded."

The party spokesman emphasized that these re-admissions were made "independently of the leadership and political interference."