Labour leader Keir Starmer says Diane Abbott is “free to go forward as a Labour candidate”, after days of speculation about her political future
Veteran left-winger Abbott claimed she had been banned from standing as a Labour candidate - something Starmer previously denied
Abbott was suspended as a Labour MP last year after saying Jewish, Irish and Traveller people do not face racism “all their lives”
Yes, there have been a lot of carefully chosen words used. I’ll wait for further details but I wouldn’t be surprised if the plan was still to get the NEC to bar her and any other troublesome candidates from standing with only a couple of days left, so the party get to parachute in their own choice.