The Labour Party has said it is taking “incredibly seriously” an interview by Diane Abbott in which she stood by comments she made about racism that led to a year-long suspension from the Labour Party.In an interview with the BBC’s James Naughtie, she was asked about the controversy that was sparked by a letter she wrote to the Observer in April 2023. In the letter, she wrote that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people “undoubtedly experience prejudice” that is “similar to racism”.She added: “It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. But they are not all their lives subject to racism.”Abbott was quick to withdraw the remarks, which were heavily criticised by Jewish and Traveller groups, and apologised “for any anguish caused”.But she was suspended from the party and only re-admitted just before last year’s general election. Asked by Naughtie if she looked back on the whole incident with regret, she said: “No, not at all.”She added: “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.”Asked if she believed she had done anything wrong or had said something in her Observer letter that she did not believe in, she said: “I just think that it’s silly to try and claim that racism which is about skin c …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnThe Labour Party has said it is taking “incredibly seriously” an interview by Diane Abbott in which she stood by comments she made about racism that led to a year-long suspension from the Labour Party.In an interview with the BBC’s James Naughtie, she was asked about the controversy that was sparked by a letter she wrote to the Observer in April 2023. In the letter, she wrote that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people “undoubtedly experience prejudice” that is “similar to racism”.She added: “It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. But they are not all their lives subject to racism.”Abbott was quick to withdraw the remarks, which were heavily criticised by Jewish and Traveller groups, and apologised “for any anguish caused”.But she was suspended from the party and only re-admitted just before last year’s general election. Asked by Naughtie if she looked back on the whole incident with regret, she said: “No, not at all.”She added: “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.”Asked if she believed she had done anything wrong or had said something in her Observer letter that she did not believe in, she said: “I just think that it’s silly to try and claim that racism which is about skin c …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
