Yvette Cooper says she “assumes” Diane Abbott will stand as a Labour candidate at the general election.

Her lukewarm assessment comes as Labour infighting over the veteran politician rumbles on.

Asked if she expects Ms Abbott the Shadow Home Secretary to stand for the party in the national poll she told Sky News: “I assume so, yes.”

She added: “I am very glad it has been resolved for Diane, she has been and continues to be a very important figure in the Labour party.”

But she hit out at the saga, which derailed Sir Keir Starmer’s election campaign last week, adding: “I think everyone would have liked to have seen the process speeded up.”

Sir Keir’s election campaign lurched from bad to worse after caving in to Labour’s hard left over the treatment of Ms Abbott.

The wannabe Prime Minister finally backed down on Friday to end days of bitter factional infighting by declaring that the Labour veteran is “free” to represent the party.

The row over Ms Abbott, who had been under investigation for an anti-semitism scandal, has engulfed the party for days.

Deep divisions at the top of the party were exposed after Sir Keir was openly challenged by his deputy Angela Rayner and Labour’s leader in Scotland Anas Sarwar to allow her to stand.

Sir Keir’s approval paves the way for the party’s National Executive Committee – stuffed with his allies – to green-light her candidacy this coming week.

Labour sources said Ms Abbott will be the Labour candidate in her long-held Hackney North constituency.

Sir Keir inflamed the Labour civil war last week after standing by his party’s decision to kick out left-wing candidates Lloyd Russell-Moyle and Faiza Shaheen.

Speaking on Sunday, Ms Cooper appeared to dodge questions about Labour’s selection process.

Asked why Labour had barred Mr Russell-Moyle and Ms Shaheen from standing but welcomed Tories Natalie Elphicke and Brexiteer Mark Logan into the party, she said: “Well, neither Natalie Elphicke nor Mark Logan are standing as Labour candidates in the election.”

Ms Cooper added: “We want people to support the Labour party, we want people who have not voted Labour in the past to vote Labour now.

“We want people to change their minds.”

Health Secretary Victoria Atkins has suggested Labour is having a “bit of an identity crisis”.

Ms Atkins said she would not comment on individual Tories who have defected to Labour, saying they will have had their “own reasons for going”.

She then told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips on Sky News: “It’s a great surprise, I think, to everyone, including possibly to Natalie Elphicke herself, that such a hard-right Conservative politician should choose to join Labour.

“But then we see this week from Labour that Sir Keir Starmer can’t work out whether Diane Abbott, one of his longest-standing and trailblazing Members of Parliament, should in fact be a Member of Parliament. He can’t work it out. So, it shows that there is a bit of an identity crisis within Labour.”

Seizing on the Diane Abbott row a Tory spokesperson said: “Angela Rayner is pushing Keir Starmer around. Under pressure, he’s showing he’s a weak leader who’s losing control of the Labour Party.

“That makes it even clearer that you don’t know what you’re going to get if Keir Starmer becomes Prime Minister – apart from higher taxes on you and your family.”

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “If Keir Starmer can’t deal with Diane Abbott, how on Earth is he going to deal with Vladimir Putin.”