Diane Abbott still weighing whether to run for Labor, says ally, amid peerage bid

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Diane Abbott is still considering whether to run as a Labor MP, a close ally said, after Labor denied offering her a peerage to leave the Commons.< /p>< p>Labour colleague Shami Chakrabarti said she had advised her friend to "take time to think about what she wanted to do".

She also denounced what she denounced as a "sordid week of unauthorized anonymous briefings". by overgrown schoolchildren, in suits, with their feet on the table" who had watched "too much West Wing".

On Friday, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer said Ms Abbot was "free" to stand as a Labor candidate in the general election, after days of back-and-forth over whether the veteran MP would be blocked.

He also said Ms Abbot was "free". hailed as a "trailblazer", saying that after being elected the UK's first black female MP, she "paved the way for other people".

The dramatic turnaround came after the Sir Keir's deputy, Angela Rayner, said Ms Abbott should be allowed to run in the north Hackney and Stoke Newington seat she has represented since 1987 - in a break with her party leader.

But Baroness Chakrabarti told anonymous briefings earlier in the week that the London MP would not be able to stand, even if he had won the Stoke Newington seat. party returns.

Ms Abbott was suspended after suggesting Jews, Irish and Travelers face prejudice but not racism.

Baroness Chakrabarti said on BBC One'sSunday show with Laura Kuenssberg. it had been a “sometimes sordid week of anonymous, unauthorized briefings by overgrown schoolchildren in suits, feet up on the table, perhaps watching too much West Wing but not adopting her more progressive values."

The Baroness added that "it was quite appalling to try to intimidate someone of her stature" and that "it is not good for the leadership of Keir Starmer is not good for the Labor Party, and it is not. been very kind to Diane and out of simple decency"...