Left wing Labour frontbencher Diane Abbott has refused to say if she will swear allegiance to the Queen when she is made a member of the Privy Council in the new year.

The Cabinet Office will say on Monday that Ms Abbott, the shadow home secretary is to join the Privy Council and swear allegiance to the Queen.

She will be accompanied by Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, who is a former barrister and the wife of a High Court judge.

Both politicians are expected to be formally sworn as members in the new year, most likely the second week of February, allowing them to style themselves as "Right Honourable".

The status will allow Ms Abbott as shadow home affairs spokesman to be briefed on sensitive state secrets.

However it comes after she co-authored a pamphlet which backed the “dismantling” of the monarchy.