I’d like Diane Abbott to be Labour MP again, says Angela Rayner

Rayner joins a range of party figures from Ed Balls to Dawn Butler in expressing a desire for the whip to be restored. Photograph: Michael Mayhew/Allstar

Angela Rayner has said she wants to see Diane Abbott let back into the parliamentary Labour party and that she does not know why the party leadership has not apologised to the MP over racist abuse she faced internally.

The party’s deputy leader said she sometimes shared “frustrations” with how long Labour investigations took, while noting they had to follow procedures.