'This is factually incorrect'...Diane Abbott denies being offered a seat in the Lords

She vows to stand as a Labour candidate on July 4

- Martyn Brown

VETERAN Left-winger Diane Abbott has said she intends to "run and win" as a Labour candidate in the General Election as she denied having been offered a peerage.

It came after reports suggested she was still weighing up her options and was even considering accepting a seat in the Lords.

Yesterday the Sunday Times suggested that a number of former Labour MPs, including Ms Abbott, had been offered peerages to quit and open up seats for allies of leader Sir Keir Starmer.

But Ms Abbott wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "This is factually incorrect. I have never been offered a seat in the Lords, and would not accept one if offered.

"I am the adopted Labour candidate for Hackney North and Stoke Newington. I intend to run and to win as Labour's candidate."

Earlier shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper had dodged claims that peerages had been offered to Ms Abbott, who had held her seat for 37 years, and other Labour MPs. Stopping short of completely denying the claims, she said she did not "know anything about that". She told Sky News: "No party can do that, it's not the way the system works."