By Ruby Cline

Copyright yahoo

Diane Abbott has admitted declaring more than £40,000 of earnings from her book late.

The former Labour MP reported £22,500 of earnings from Viking Penguin, the publisher of her memoir A Woman Like Me, in November 2024, having received the money in September.

Another £18,450 was registered in August 2025, which Ms Abbott had received in March.

The Mother of the House also recorded a trip to Ghana from May 23 to June 1 on July 3, beyond the 28-day limit.

Parliamentary rules say MPs should register changes to their interests within 28 days.

The MP, who sits as an independent after being suspended from the Labour Party for a second time, apologised and blamed the delays on “oversight caused by pressure of work”.

She wrote to the watchdog: “I confirm that I have read and accept your decision. I acknowledge that I breached the rules of the House by failing to register three interests within the required 28-day timeframe, and I apologise for these breaches.

“I take my responsibilities under the code of conduct very seriously and regret that, on this occasion, the registrations were made late.

“To ensure this does not happen again, I have put new checks and balances in place within my office.”

The commissioner is expected to present a memorandum to the Commons standards committee for further consideration.

‘Unacceptable’

Daniel Greenberg, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, wrote in a note issued in 2023 that a “significant proportion of Members are habitually registering outside the 28-day time limits”, which he described as “unacceptable”.

In the Labour Party manifesto, Sir Keir Starmer promised a new independent Ethics and Integrity Commission “to ensure probity in government”.

It said that the party would oversee a “clean-up” of politics that “ensures the highest standards of integrity and honesty”.

The Government set out plans to tighten rules for MPs on outside jobs, getting rid of exemptions for advising employers on “public policy” and how Parliament works.

Ms Abbott is not expected to return to Labour after she doubled down in July on a previous claim that Jews experience racism differently to black people.

She also defended comments made in a letter to The Observer in April 2023 in which she compared the experiences faced by Jewish, Irish and Traveller communities with that of people with red hair.

A suspended MP is blocked from standing as a candidate under party rules until their case is resolved.

At the general election in summer 2024, Ms Abbott’s majority in Hackney North and Stoke Newington was reduced to 15,080 as voter support shifted toward the Green Party.

Ms Abbott was contacted for comment.