Speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Diane Abbott said:
“I think Jeremy’s party is going to do a lot better than people think, because a lot of people and not necessarily left-wing people are a tiny bit disappointed about the way we’ve gone in the past year.”
A party spokesman said:
“Diane Abbott has been administratively suspended from the Labour Party, pending an investigation. We cannot comment further while this investigation is ongoing.”
This comes after Abbott rescinded her apology for the comments she made to the Observer which got her suspended. What did she expect…
Diane Abbott has rolled back on her apology for a letter she wrote to the Observer in 2023 implying Jewish people couldn’t experience racism. The letter which lost her the whip until the election…
At the time she apologised: “I wish to wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks and disassociate myself from them. The errors arose in an initial draft being sent. But there is no excuse, and I wish to apologise for any anguish caused.”
Now on BBC Radio 4’s Reflections programme she takes a different line. Asked if she regrets the letter she said: “No, not at all.” And went on…
“Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you don’t know. You don’t know unless you stop to speak to them or you’re in a meeting with them. But if you see a black person walking down the street, you see straight away that they’re black. They are different types of racism… I just think that it’s silly to try and claim that racism which is about skin colour is the same as other types of racism. I just… I don’t know why people would say that.”
When Labour suspended the whip it said it “completely condemns these comments which are deeply offensive and wrong.” Will the whips now judge Abbott guilty of ‘persistent knobheadery’?
UPDATE: Labour spokesman: “There is no place for antisemitism in the Labour Party. We take these comments incredibly seriously, and will assess them in line with Labour Party’s rules and procedures.”
Diane Abbott posted on X this morning calling the IDF the “Jewish Defence Force”. It’s now been deleted…
Not going to help Labour right now…
Perpetual moaner Diane Abbott, Mother of the House, has taken up whinging about Labour again, after a brief pause following her return of the whip. Speaking at the Southbank Centre in London yesterday, Abbott trotted out the familiar grievance: “there is no doubt that there’s institutional racism in the Labour Party.” Conveniently leaving out the fact she herself spent over a year under investigation for… racism. Naturally, she labelled that inquiry as racist as well…
Abbott went on to accuse Starmer of being “harsher than Tony Blair” in his purge of the Corbynistas, stating that “the Left of the party is on the downturn at the minute.” Someone grab the tissues..
Statement by Paul Dacre, Editor-in-Chief of Associated Newspapers Limited, following Harry’s loss in court today:
“Prince Harry wrote a sad book which boasted about his killing of 25 Taliban, his drug-taking and, in cringe-making detail, how he lost his virginity. There isn’t a laundry in the cosmos big enough to wash all the dirty linen he has aired about his own family. For him, to complain about HIS privacy being invaded takes, not just the biscuit, but the whole tin. Poor Harry. I feel sorry for the way a confused and angry young man has been drawn into this case. The bitter irony is that his mother, Diana, liked the Mail. We were her paper. We took her side in her acrimonious break up with Charles. She and I would speak and meet. The Mail’s superb royal reporter was her friend and confidante. The truth is that this trumped-up action – which has cost well over £50 million and wasted a huge amount of valuable court time – should never have been brought to trial. That it did, raises profoundly disturbing questions about the conduct of elements of the legal profession. Today’s verdict is not just a victory for Associated’s magnificent journalists – several of whom have had a terrible toll imposed on their health and lives – but a free press generally. Make no mistake. This was a conspiracy, supported by Hacked Off, to destroy a paper. Financed by the orgy-loving, racist Max Mosley and involving the actor Hugh Grant, it was also a sinister bid to resuscitate Leveson Two and impose statutory regulation on the press which, even now, is rearing its ugly head in Labour’s Media Green Paper.”
