Sir Keir Starmer has distanced himself from Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner and refused to say if he would like Diane Abbott to stand in the general election.
The Labour leader broke with Ms Rayner and declined to give a view on whether the veteran left-winger should be allowed to run as a Labour candidate.
A day earlier, the Labour deputy said “as the deputy leader of the Labour Party… I don’t see any reason why Diane Abbott can’t stand as a Labour MP going forward”.
She heaped praise on Ms Abbott, describing her as an inspiration and a trailblazer. And Ms Rayner appeared to take aim at Sir Keir and his inner circle, stressing that she is “not happy” about negative briefings to newspapers about Ms Abbott from senior Labour sources.
“I don’t think that is how we should conduct ourselves,” she told ITV.
Asked by BBC Radio Scotland for his own view on whether Ms Abbott should be allowed to run for Labour on 4 July, Sir Keir said a decision would be made by the party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC).
“Diane Abbott has had the whip returned to her, no decision has been taken to bar her from standing and the NEC will come to a decision in due course,” he said.
Asked if he would like her to be a candidate, Sir Keir added: “Ultimately, that will be a matter for the NEC but no decision has been taken.”
He also praised the MP – the first Black woman to be elected to the Commons – as a “trailblazer”.
Despite heaping praise on Ms Abbott, he refused to follow Ms Rayner in giving a personal view on whether he would like to see her continue as a Labour MP.
Ms Abbott was given the Labour whip back this week, but it was briefed out that she would be “barred” from running as a Labour candidate in the general election.
It had been suggested she was planning to retire, but at a rally in support of her on Wednesday Ms Abbott declared that she would stand for parliament again.
Unions have backed Ms Abbott, with TUC president Matt Wrack warning against double standards being applied.
Mr Wrack, who is also the Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said: “Diane Abbott is a powerful, popular advocate for Labour. She and other candidates have been treated in an appalling manner.
“There are clearly double standards in how they have been treated as left-wingers and as women of colour when compared to more centrist MPs.”
Ms Abbott said on Thursday she has met with leading trade unionists who have offered her their backing to be a Labour candidate at a meeting next week of Labour’s NEC.
The deadline for the party to rubber stamp its general election candidates is 4 June.
