Diane Abbott slams 'racism still exists in Britain' as MPs cheered by supporters at rally

Diane Abbott appeared at a rally to slam the “level of racism that still exists in the UK” after comments about her sparked controversy.

Ms. Abbott Hackney, east London, was greeted with cheers and chants of “I stand with Diane” after a Tory donor made offensive remarks.

The former Labor MP praised the people of Hackney, who she said had “supported her year after year, decade after decade”.

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After the race row, she said: “It’s not about me, it’s about the level of racism that still exists in Britain. It’s about the way black women are not respected.”

The Hackney and Stoke Newington MP, who was suspended from parliamentary Labor last year, went on to say that her mother came to the UK as a nurse in the 1950s.

“She was of the generation of black women that built the NHS,” she said.

Ms Abbott, who currently sits as an independent in the House of Commons, attended the rally, days after the Guardian published comments by Tory donor Frank Hurst.

He reportedly said in a 2019 meeting that she made him “want to hate all black women” and that she “should be shot.”

Phoenix Partners CEO Hurst said he was “deeply sorry” for the commentsbut insists they have “nothing to do with her gender or skin color.”

Following the row, the Conservatives were under pressure to return funds donated to the party by Mr Hester, it is understood A total of £15m since 2019.

Ms Abbott’s supporters have also called for her to be returned to the parliamentary Labor Party by reinstating the whip.

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Ms Abbott served as Labor whip removed from her last year She commented in the Observer that Jews, Irish and Travelers did not face “racism” but suffered prejudice akin to “redheads” – for which she later apologized.

On Friday night, The Independent reported that Ms Abbott had not reinstated the Labor whip because she refused to attend anti-Semitism training – which she said was “blatantly shoddy journalism”.