In September 2001, Abell joined the Press Complaints Commission as a complaints officer;[5] he completed other roles at the PCC including press officer, assistant director and deputy director before being appointed Director of the PCC on 19 December 2010.[6]
In August 2013, Abell joined The Sun as managing editor, his role until the end of April 2016.[7]
In March 2014, Abell started co-presenting a show on LBC Radio alongside Sky News television presenter Kay Burley from 8am to 11am on Sundays. Burley was the main presenter while Abell reviewed the papers and added political comment.[8]
From August 2014, the show was co-presented by Abell and LBC's Petrie Hosken. In January 2015, he was given his own show from 8am to 10am on Sundays. From April 2016, Abell moved to the afternoon slot on Sundays of 3pm to 6pm.
Abell has been heavily criticised for publishing an article in 2015 in The Sun by Katie Hopkins. The article argued for "gunships sending these boats back to their own country", and described migrants as "like cockroaches". It concluded that Britain should "force migrants back to their shores and burn the boats".[9][10][11]
In May 2018, Abell's first book, How Britain Really Works, was published by John Murray.[17]
In April 2020, it was announced that Abell would be joining the upcoming radio station Times Radio as a presenter. He was also named as the station's Launch Director.[18]
In November 2020, he released his second book, Things I Learned on the 6:28, a guide to reading.[19] In September 2021, The Bookseller reported HarperCollins had agreed a three-book deal with Abell's agents including his first work of crime fiction and a non-fiction title.[20]