Diane Abbott sparks another Twitter race row after branding taxi drivers as racist
Labour Party chiefs were today looking into a second controversial tweet from MP Diane Abbott after she suggested London cabbies drive past black customers.
Many taxi drivers across the capital were fuming after details of the new gaffe by Britain's first black woman MP, who is shadow health minister, was revealed.
She sent a message from her iPhone on Tuesday: 'Dubious of black people claiming they've never experienced racism.
'Ever tried hailing a taxi I always wonder?'
A Labour Party spokesman said they would look into the circumstances in which the comment was made.
Steve McNamara, a spokesman for the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, said: 'This is outdated, racist stereotyping that has no place in a modern, multicultural city like London.
'A lot of drivers are angry today about this, including a black driver who is one of our members, who was outraged. I think she will have difficulty hailing a cab after this.'
He added: 'This is a typically silly comment by Diane Abbott and deeply unfair. "The modern generation of taxi drivers is as diverse as London itself and most of the knowledge schools now have prayer rooms.
'Her comment is a silly stereotype that harks back to the days of 'I don't go south of the river' and 'hanging's too good for them'.
'It is as outdated and insulting as the stereotype that black people wear woolly hats all the time.'
McNamara, who has himself been driving taxis in London for more than 20 years, said he had once picked the MP up.
He said: 'She has no trouble being picked up. I picked her from a rather trendy mews development about 10 or 12 years ago."
Ms Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, was ordered to apologise by Labour leader Ed Miliband on Thursday for her "divide and rule" tweet.
The Shadow Minister for Public Health dived disastrously into the Stephen Lawrence debate - claiming that 'white people love playing divide and rule' with the black population.
Miss Abbott, the first black woman MP, was later forced to apologise for the comments posted on Twitter.
But Miss Abbott hit back saying criticism of black leaders was effectively playing into the hands of whites.
'I understand the cultural point you are making,' she told Miss Adewunmi.
'But you are playing into a "divide and rule" agenda. White people love playing "divide and rule". We should not play their game.'
She then accused white people of peddling a 'tactic as old as colonialism'.
Miss Abbott immediately faced calls to resign. Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi said if a white politician had made similar comments about blacks they would have had to quit.
But Miss Abbott, who has a history of making racially-charged statements, initially refused to back down. In a Twitter message and a brief TV interview she insisted her words had been 'taken out of context'. The unrepentant MP even sought to claim she was talking about the 'nature of 19th century European colonialism' rather than modern Britain.
But while she was on camera, she took a phone call from Mr Miliband, who told her she had let down both him and the Labour Party and he demanded that she make a public apology.
Minutes later she issued a new statement saying: 'I understand people have interpreted my comments as making generalisations about white people. I do not believe in doing that. I apologise for any offence caused.'
A Labour Party spokesman said it was 'wrong' to make such 'sweeping generalisations' while Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna said: 'The contents of the tweet were clearly unacceptable'
A senior Labour source said: 'If we thought she really believed what was in the tweet, she would be off the front bench, but she doesn't and she has apologised. Ed made it clear that unless she apologised she would have been fired.'
Marc Wadsworth, an executive at black newspaper The Voice said: 'She could have phrased what she said better by saying that some white leaders have played divide and rule.'
Miss Abbott's views on race issues have upset the Labour leadership before. In 1988 she told a black studies conference in Philadelphia that 'the British invented racism'.
And in 1996 she attacked her local hospital for employing 'blonde, blue-eyed' Finnish nurses.
The daughter of West Indian migrants, she escaped her working class roots through an education at Harrow County Grammar School, where she acted in a play opposite Michael Portillo, the ex-Tory MP who ended up as her sparring partner on BBC1's This Week show.
***
source: The Daily Fail
A follow-up to this post on Thursday. smh at the British press trying to use this as a distraction from talking about the levels of racism in the police force revealed by the Stephen Lawrence inquiry.
Many taxi drivers across the capital were fuming after details of the new gaffe by Britain's first black woman MP, who is shadow health minister, was revealed.
She sent a message from her iPhone on Tuesday: 'Dubious of black people claiming they've never experienced racism.
'Ever tried hailing a taxi I always wonder?'
A Labour Party spokesman said they would look into the circumstances in which the comment was made.
Steve McNamara, a spokesman for the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, said: 'This is outdated, racist stereotyping that has no place in a modern, multicultural city like London.
'A lot of drivers are angry today about this, including a black driver who is one of our members, who was outraged. I think she will have difficulty hailing a cab after this.'
He added: 'This is a typically silly comment by Diane Abbott and deeply unfair. "The modern generation of taxi drivers is as diverse as London itself and most of the knowledge schools now have prayer rooms.
'Her comment is a silly stereotype that harks back to the days of 'I don't go south of the river' and 'hanging's too good for them'.
'It is as outdated and insulting as the stereotype that black people wear woolly hats all the time.'
McNamara, who has himself been driving taxis in London for more than 20 years, said he had once picked the MP up.
He said: 'She has no trouble being picked up. I picked her from a rather trendy mews development about 10 or 12 years ago."
Ms Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, was ordered to apologise by Labour leader Ed Miliband on Thursday for her "divide and rule" tweet.
The Shadow Minister for Public Health dived disastrously into the Stephen Lawrence debate - claiming that 'white people love playing divide and rule' with the black population.
Miss Abbott, the first black woman MP, was later forced to apologise for the comments posted on Twitter.
But Miss Abbott hit back saying criticism of black leaders was effectively playing into the hands of whites.
'I understand the cultural point you are making,' she told Miss Adewunmi.
'But you are playing into a "divide and rule" agenda. White people love playing "divide and rule". We should not play their game.'
She then accused white people of peddling a 'tactic as old as colonialism'.
Miss Abbott immediately faced calls to resign. Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi said if a white politician had made similar comments about blacks they would have had to quit.
But Miss Abbott, who has a history of making racially-charged statements, initially refused to back down. In a Twitter message and a brief TV interview she insisted her words had been 'taken out of context'. The unrepentant MP even sought to claim she was talking about the 'nature of 19th century European colonialism' rather than modern Britain.
But while she was on camera, she took a phone call from Mr Miliband, who told her she had let down both him and the Labour Party and he demanded that she make a public apology.
Minutes later she issued a new statement saying: 'I understand people have interpreted my comments as making generalisations about white people. I do not believe in doing that. I apologise for any offence caused.'
A Labour Party spokesman said it was 'wrong' to make such 'sweeping generalisations' while Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna said: 'The contents of the tweet were clearly unacceptable'
A senior Labour source said: 'If we thought she really believed what was in the tweet, she would be off the front bench, but she doesn't and she has apologised. Ed made it clear that unless she apologised she would have been fired.'
Marc Wadsworth, an executive at black newspaper The Voice said: 'She could have phrased what she said better by saying that some white leaders have played divide and rule.'
Miss Abbott's views on race issues have upset the Labour leadership before. In 1988 she told a black studies conference in Philadelphia that 'the British invented racism'.
And in 1996 she attacked her local hospital for employing 'blonde, blue-eyed' Finnish nurses.
The daughter of West Indian migrants, she escaped her working class roots through an education at Harrow County Grammar School, where she acted in a play opposite Michael Portillo, the ex-Tory MP who ended up as her sparring partner on BBC1's This Week show.
***
source: The Daily Fail
A follow-up to this post on Thursday. smh at the British press trying to use this as a distraction from talking about the levels of racism in the police force revealed by the Stephen Lawrence inquiry.