Pressure on Keir Starmer as Angela Rayner says she wants Diane Abbott back as Labor MP

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Labor leader Keir Starmer is under increasing pressure after his deputy Angela Rayner said she would like to see Diane Abbott back in the party.

Ms Rayner also condemned as “absolutely frightening” alleged comments from top Tory donor Frank Hester that Ms Abbott had made him “want to hate all black women” and that she should be “ dejected.”

She said: “Personally, I would like to see Diane again. But the Labor Party has to follow its procedures...so it doesn't matter what I think. »

His comments come as Labor veteran Harriet Harman calls for the investigation into Ms Abbott's suspension to be speeded up, admitting processes can sometimes be slow.

The comments reveal a division at the top of the Labor Party and will increase pressure on Sir Keir, who has so far resisted calls to return the whip to Ms Abbott.

>Earlier. , Sir Keir said Ms Abbott, who this week was at the center of a Conservative Party election row, needed "an arm around her", but described her suspension as a "completely different" issue and one that was “the subject of an ongoing investigation.” ”.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has said she wants to see Diane Abbott return as a Labor MP

p> (Henry Nicholls /PA)

The long-serving MP was suspended from the Labor Party last year after suggesting that Jews, Irish and Travelers are not subject to the same racism that some...