UPDATE - Labour leader says Diane Abbott NOT 'banned' from running as candidate

Sir Keir Starmer says Diane Abbott has NOT been barred from standing for Labour in the General Election.

The Labour leader said no decision had been taken on whether she would be allowed to defend her seat.

Ms Abbott, who in 1987 became the first black woman elected to Parliament, said she was "very dismayed" at suggestions she would be barred from standing.

She had the Labour whip suspended in April 2023 pending an investigation after she suggested Jewish, Irish and Traveller people experience prejudice, but not racism.

The whip was restored on Tuesday, but Ms Abbott appeared to believe she had been barred from standing in Hackney North and Stoke Newington on July 4.

On Wednesday, she told the BBC: “Although the whip has been restored, I am banned from standing as a Labour candidate.”But she later wrote on social media: "I am very dismayed that numerous reports suggest I have been barred as a candidate."

Response from Labour leader:

Sir Keir told reporters in Worcester "it's not true" that Ms Abbott had been barred.

"No decision has been taken to bar Diane Abbott.

"The process that we were going through ended with the restoration of the whip the other day, so she's a member of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) and no decision has been taken barring her."

The decision on whether she can stand will ultimately be taken by Labour's ruling national executive committee (NEC).

Six unions affiliated with Labour called for Ms Abbott to be allowed to stand.

Ms Abbott said she was "delighted to have the Labour whip restored and to be a member of the PLP".

In an indication she would not follow her ally Jeremy Corbyn and stand as an independent, she said: "I will be campaigning for a Labour victory."

Ex-Labour leader Mr Corbyn is launching his own campaign against his former party in Islington North later on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Labour has to be "transparent" about Ms Abbott's position.

Tory chairman Richard Holden wrote to Sir Keir demanding answers about the process.

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