Keir Starmer 'losing control' of Labour as he caves to Angela Rayner in Diane Abbott row

Sir Keir Starmer has finally caved in after days of Labour rowing and pressure from the hard left, and given Diane Abbott the nod to stand as a candidate at the election.

Following Angela Rayner's bombshell show of sympathy with the controversial socialist yesterday, Sir Keir has just said Diane Abbott is "free to go forward as a Labour candidate".

He told reporters that “The whip has obviously been restored to her now and she is free to go forward as a Labour candidate", before praising her as a "trailblazer".

The move is a major blow to the Labour leader's authority, and a victory for his outspoken deputy leader.

Just a few hours ago, Sir Keir refused to say anything about Ms Abbott's future in Labour beyond reiterating that no decision has been taken.

Responding, a Tory spokesman claimed: “Angela Rayner is pushing Keir Starmer around. Under pressure, he's showing he's a weak leader who's losing control of the Labour Party.”

The row has overshadowed nearly three full days of Labour's campaign this week, with Sir Keir also accused of launching a wider coup against left-wingers in his party.

Ms Abbott had threatened to stand as an independent against Labour, but her future in politics remains uncertain.

Sir Keir was further humiliated this morning as he was forced to stand on stage with his Scottish leader Anas Sarwar, who this morning also came out on Ms Abbott's side in the row.

He told BBC Breakfast: "I would agree with Angela that Diane Abbott is someone who’s a historic figure in our party, a trailblazer, and someone who has a record of service for our party".

He added: “The article that Diane Abbott wrote which was not acceptable, which led to a disciplinary investigation, an investigation that has now concluded".

"We’ve had the disciplinary process, she’s had the whip restored, it’s now for the NEC to do the endorsements of candidates, and I hope people will recognise Diane Abbott is a trailblazer, someone with a strong history in the Labour party, but ultimately that’s a decision for the NEC.”

Yesterday Angela Rayner very publicly broke ranks, saying “I don’t think there’s any reason” why Ms Abbott should not stand and the row over her future was “not a great look”.

Uncertainty about Ms Abbott’s fate, the suspension of Lloyd Russell-Moyle, who was MP for Brighton Kemptown and the decision not to endorse candidate Faiza Shaheen in Chingford and Woodford Green has led to an angry backlash that Sir Keir and his allies are carrying out a “cull” of the Labour left.

The Tories said the blistering row, which has engulfed the Labour party for the past two days, shows their election campaign has “descended into chaos”.

Rishi Sunak said that the Labour Party is “focused on talking about themselves” but should be more “transparent” about the timeline of events surrounding Ms Abbott’s suspension and investigation.

And Jeremy Hunt warned that Sir Keir will struggle on the world stage to stand up against Russia if he can’t take swift action over Ms Abbott.

Angela Rayner's intervention yesterday joined countless other Labour voices furiously demanding that Ms Abbott is not forcibly retired at the election.

Labour MP Beth Winter, from the Socialist Campaign Group, said the way “she has been treated is vindictive, factional and cruel”.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan told the Evening Standard that Ms Abbott was a “trailblazer” and recalled how seeing her in 1987 “made a huge impact on me in a positive sense of the word”.

Mr Khan added: “She’s someone who’s done a huge amount for Hackney, for London, for our country. So I think it’s really important that she’s given the respect she deserves.”

Labour MP Jess Phillips said the party should allow Diane Abbott to stand as a candidate.

She said: "I think that the delay has been unedifying. The whole thing has been unedifying. I'm not sure why there is this confusion or a difference of opinion. It sounds to me like Diane will be able to stand.

"What I think everybody had hoped for in this process was that, and obviously we don't know that the election was coming, was that Diane would be readmitted back to the Labour Party post. The investigation, which I've said before publicly, took too long.”