Labour will review its decision to expel Alastair Campbell from the party after he voted for the Liberal Democrats in the European elections, the shadow attorney general has said.
Mr Campbell, Tony Blair's former spin doctor, was booted out after Labour said support for another party or candidate is "incompatible with party membership".
But following a backlash, shadow attorney general Shami Chakrabarti told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme on Thursday: "Now there will be a review, which is appropriate."
Saying she "would not like to see this drag on", Ms Chakrabarti added: "Merely voting for another party is not in itself grounds for exclusion or expulsion."
Mr Campbell later responded by tweeting: "Pleased, if it is true, that my ‘expulsion’ from @UKLabour is being ‘reviewed.’ Not heard anything from governance unit; but makes sense given I’m confident I could win an appeal, and also to prevent thousands of expulsions of LibDem/Green/Change/SNP/Plaid-voting Labour members."
Labour has not responded to the Standard's request for comment on Ms Chakrabarti's remarks.
European elections 2019
Mr Campbell, a leading campaigner for a second Brexit referendum, said the European elections marked the first time in his life that he had voted against Labour.
He said the party, under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, had let its supporters down on Brexit policy.
Ms Chakrabarti, asked if she wanted him to return to the party, continued: "That will depend on what he says about his intentions.
"Political parties have rules about people who support other parties, but I hope this case will be reviewed."
When told about Andrew Fisher, who is part of Mr Corbyn's inner circle, having previously expressed support for Class War in 2014 without expulsion, Ms Chakrabarti said: "People who have expressed support for other parties can then come forward with their future intentions and then come back.
"I don't know what happened in the case of Andrew Fisher... the crucial thing is not to dance around the language of the rule, but to look at the practical outcomes."
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She continued: "Merely voting for another party is not in itself grounds for exclusion or expulsion or anything like that. I want the large numbers of people who did that last week, for heartfelt reasons, to rest assured.
"As to Alastair Campbell, or any other individual who has expressed public support for other parties, I hope they can come forward and speak about their future intentions and their case can be reviewed."
Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson has backed Mr Campbell, saying it was "spiteful" to expel people from the party and called for an "amnesty" for members who did not support it at the European elections.
The latest development came as Mr Corbyn said an election or referendum is now the "only way out" of the Brexit crisis.
It follows mounting pressure on Mr Corbyn, a known Eurosceptic, to back a public vote.
Mr Corbyn said that going "back to the people" was now the only option when faced with the prospect of a no-deal Brexit and an incoming Tory Prime Minister "with no mandate".
He has been under intense pressure to explicitly back a referendum on Brexit after the European elections saw his party suffer heavy losses.