Would You like a feature Interview?
All Interviews are 100% FREE of Charge
Diane Abbott has launched a new attack on Sir Lindsay Hoyle after she was denied a chance to speak at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) earlier this week as race turmoil continues at Westminster.
He was criticized on Wednesday for belittling Mr Hackney North at PMQs, despite Labor MPs standing up more than 40 times to ask questions.
A heated session on racism erupted after Frank Hester, the Conservative party’s biggest donor, reportedly said that Abbott, the first black female MP, “makes me want to hate all black women.” occupied by discussion.
Mr Hester has since apologized, but amid mounting calls for the Conservative Party to return more than £10m of her donations, Mr Hester’s comments “have nothing to do with her gender or the color of her skin”. No,” he said.
Mr Abbott said on Saturday that he was “surprised I wasn’t called to speak” during Wednesday’s PMQs session, which was “mainly about racism and me”.
“I’ve stood up more than 40 times. The chairman claims he’s running out of time. The truth is he can make PMQs go on for as long as he wants,” she wrote to X.
Mr. Hoyle’s office has previously defended the Speaker, saying in a statement Wednesday that he “did not have sufficient time to call every member he wanted to ask questions.”
MPs typically apply to the speaker for a chance to ask questions ahead of PMQs on Wednesday, and a computer program selects questions by random vote.
The chair’s job on the day is to ensure that questions from the ruling party (Conservatives) alternate with questions from the opposition (everyone else). Lawmakers stand up for a chance to be elected.
On Wednesday, only four Conservative MPs were chosen at random in the vote, meaning Mr Hoyle needed to select other Conservatives to ensure balance in the session.
Mr Abbott then said: “I don’t know whose interests the Speaker thinks he is serving. But it is not the interests of the commons or democracy.”
But Conservative MPs, including David Davis, defended the Speaker, saying his “hands were tied” as he was unable to choose additional opposition MPs to speak, given how many had already been voted in. “I was being treated like that.”
Mr Abbott remains suspended from Labor over a letter he wrote to the party. observer last year. She said in her letter that Jews, Irish and Travelers do not face “racism” and instead suffer from similar prejudice as “redheads”. She later apologized for her own comments.
Labor now faces calls to reinstate Mr Abbott’s whip as it claims an 11-month investigation into his comments was closed to avoid having to make a decision on his future. There is.
Hundreds of supporters gathered at a rally in Mr Abbott’s east London constituency on Friday night, where they were greeted with chants of “I support Diane”.
She told the audience that Mr Hester’s comments about her and the subsequent anger were “not about me, this is about the level of racism that still exists in Britain”. This shows how black women are disrespected. ”
the activists spoke I A large number of Labor MPs are reportedly leaving the party over Mr Abbott’s suspension. This comes after Sir Keir said on Thursday that the suspension was a “completely separate issue” from the racism scandal involving Mr Abbott and warned against confusing the two issues. .
“It was about allegations of anti-Semitism related to a letter…This letter is the subject of an ongoing investigation and is separate from me. It is not for me to direct,” he said. told the BBC’s Jeremy Vine.
But Labor deputy leader Angela Reiner appeared to differ from the opposition leader’s comments on Thursday when she said she “would like to see” the Labor whip returned to Mr Abbott.
Labor is likely to have to decide whether to reinstate Mr Abbott as an MP in due course, or risk having to find another candidate ahead of the general election.
Labor leaders denied there had been a rift between Sir Keir and Mr Reiner over the approach, saying the Labor deputy leader shared her “personal views” and that it was a “process”. “interference” is clearly distinguished.
This comes as Rishi Sunak currently faces calls to return £10 million in donations from Hester and his company, and the Conservatives are still on record with the Electoral Commission. Discussions are reportedly underway over what to do with a further £5 million in donations that have not yet been received.
Mr Sunak initially refused to condemn the comments as racist, but later, under pressure from his own ministers, called them “racist and wrong”. denounced.