Diane Abbott and Joani Reid have been readmitted to the Labour Party and have had their parliamentary whips restored, the party announced.
The readmissions occurred less than two weeks into Andy Burnham's premiership as UK Labour leader, according to reports.
The Labour Party confirmed that the readmissions followed separate independent disciplinary processes. The party stated that the leadership played no role in either decision and that both investigations were carried out in accordance with the Labour rulebook and approved by the party's independent review board.
Background on Diane Abbott
According to the party, Diane Abbott was suspended for a second time after stating she did not regret comments regarding racism that led to her initial withdrawal of the whip in 2023. The party reports that Abbott apologized after the investigation concluded and received a formal warning.
Abbott's initial loss of the whip occurred in April 2023 after she wrote a letter to the Observer arguing that Jewish, Irish, and Traveller people experienced prejudice rather than racism. In a BBC interview, Abbott said: 'Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types.'
Before the 2024 general election, Abbott completed antisemitism awareness training and received a formal warning.
Background on Joani Reid
Joani Reid reportedly relinquished the whip voluntarily in March 2025 following the arrest of her husband, David Taylor, on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service in a case linked to China.
Reid has never been accused of wrongdoing. Labour party sources tell The Guardian that Reid has never been a party to the police investigations into alleged Chinese spying.