Abbott, 72, the mother of the House of Commons, was suspended for a second time last summer<\/a> after saying she did not regret comments about racism that had led to her initial loss of the whip in 2023.<\/p>\n Reid, the MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven who was elected in 2024, voluntarily relinquished the whip in March this year. Her husband had been arrested on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service in a case linked to China. Reid has never been accused of wrongdoing.<\/p>\n The Guardian understands from Labour party sources that Reid has never been party to the police investigations into alleged Chinese spying.<\/p>\n Joani Reid voluntarily relinquished the Labour whip in March. Photograph: Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert\/Alamy<\/p>\n Abbott has apologised after the investigation concluded. It is understood the disciplinary process resulted in her receiving a formal warning from the party.<\/p>\n A Labour party spokesperson said: \u201cThe Labour party expects the highest standards from our elected representatives and party members. The party assesses any alleged breaches of such standards independently of the leadership and political interference.<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing a process conducted under Labour party rules and approved by the independent review board, Diane Abbott<\/a> and Joani Reid have been readmitted to the Labour party and have had the Labour whip restored in the House of Commons.<\/p>\n \u201cDiane Abbott has also apologised following the independent process coming to an end. All Labour elected representatives must be mindful at all times of their platform and the responsibilities that come with that privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n It is understood both investigations were carried out in accordance with the Labour rulebook and approved by the party\u2019s independent review board.<\/p>\n Abbott was first stripped of the Labour whip in April 2023 after writing a letter to the Observer<\/a> in which she argued that Jewish, Irish and Traveller people experienced prejudice rather than racism. She apologised and withdrew the remarks, saying an earlier draft had mistakenly been submitted for publication.<\/p>\n Following a long investigation \u2013 which ended after dozens of MPs, Labour members and even some celebrities called for her to be reinstated because she apologised \u2013 Abbott had the whip restored just before the 2024 general election. The Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP completed antisemitism awareness training and received a formal warning.<\/p>\n But she was suspended for a second time last July after she told the BBC: \u201cClearly, 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\u2019t know.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter | Every day<\/p>\n Sign up to Headlines UK<\/p>\n Get the day\u2019s headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cI just think that it\u2019s silly to try to claim that racism which is about skin colour is the same as other types of racism. I don\u2019t know why people would say that.\u201d<\/p>\n Her second suspension last summer was seen as the latest sign that the then prime minister Keir Starmer intended to take a tougher approach to party discipline, after being forced to U-turn over controversial welfare cuts because of a massive rebellion by his MPs.<\/p>\n Reid, 39, stepped aside from the Labour party in March<\/a> after her husband, David Taylor, was arrested<\/a> by counter-terrorism police.<\/p>\n At the time, she said she was not under investigation, had done nothing wrong, and was voluntarily relinquishing the whip to avoid becoming a distraction while Labour carried out its own inquiries.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782332000_529_500.jpg\")
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