Labour veteran Diane Abbott ‘dismayed’ at prospect of being blocked from standing

Labour MP Diane Abbott (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott has said she was “dismayed” at the prospect she could be banned from standing for the the party as a row over her position distracted from Keir Starmer’s pitch to voters on the NHS.

The possibility that Ms Abbott, who in 1987 became the first black woman elected to Parliament, could be blocked from standing is the latest sign of Mr Starmer's willingness to pick a fight with the party left.