DITHERING Keir Starmer is braced for his biggest flip-flop of the campaign yet – abandoning a bungled attempt to oust Labour lefty Diane Abbott.
After a hellish 48 hours of purge backlash, the famously flexible PM hopeful was weighing up letting the top Corbynista stand again for the party – following a brutal intervention from his own deputy Angela Rayner.
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She appeared to bounce her boss yesterday by saying she does not “see any reason” Ms Abbott should not be the Labour candidate in Hackney North – despite an ongoing anti-Jewish racism storm.
It followed days of chaos that saw the Tories brand Sir Keir weak for failing to get a grip of the row that has sparked a standoff between Ms Abbott and the leadership.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “If Keir Starmer can’t deal with Diane Abbott, how on Earth is he going to deal with Vladimir Putin.”
Hours earlier, Sir Keir claimed that “no decision has been taken to bar her” and was gushing about her 37 years in Parliament.
In Monmouthshire, Wales, he said: “She carved out a path for others to come into politics and she did all that whilst also being one of the most abused MPs across all political parties.”
But giving himself some wriggle room he said: “I’ve always had the aspiration that we will have the best quality candidates as we go into this election.”
An official decision is expected next week by Labour’s National Executive Committee that is packed with his allies.
Rishi Sunak turned the screw on his No10 rival to insist Sir Keir come clean on the murky row.
At a rally in Milton Keynes he said: “I’m not following every twist and turn of this, it’s a question for the Labour party.
“In general people should be transparent about what happened and when because there is some confusion about the exact timeline here.”
The PM added that Sir Keir’s outfit were more concerned with “talking about themselves” rather than issues “everyone across the country”.
The row shifted gears at midday when Ms Rayner announced she was “not happy” with negative briefings declaring Ms Abbott persona non grata.
The deputy leader said: “I don’t think that is how we should conduct ourselves.”
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Meanwhile, separate Labour purge victim Faiza Shaheen vowed to battle her ban from standing as a candidate in the courts.
The wannabe replacement to ex-Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith accused Sir Keir’s party of having “a problem with black and brown people”.
Ms Shaheen complained that she was barred from standing amid “a systematic campaign of racism, Islamophobia and bullying”.
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