Diane Abbott greeted a crowd of people who gathered in her support on Friday night, urging them to “stand strong” against racism.
The rally was organized by local black women in Hackney after comments by Frank Hester, the Conservative party’s biggest donor, about the long-serving MP were widely condemned as racist and misogynistic. .
The rally was attended by Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters, who wanted to protest the comments and the wider treatment of black women in public life.
A large crowd gathered just before the rally began at 6:30 p.m. Hyacinth Morris, 65, a former housing worker, said: “Labour has completely missed the point. The racist comments just seem to be ignored. The debate has become about the £15m. What about her safety? How do we feel as black women?”
“I came here to show her a little bit of support because she’s been treated pretty poorly,” said Sylvia Geohagen, 72, a former child protection officer and Morris’ sister. Ta.
“She’s important to me,” said Harvey Watt, 24, “because she shows us that we black people can do it too.”
The Guardian newspaper reported on Monday that Mr Hester, a businessman who has donated £10 million to the Conservative Party, said that seeing Mr Abbott, Britain’s first black female MP, on TV “makes me want to hate all black women” so she “He should be shot,” he said.
It was later reported that Hester had donated a further £5m to the party.
Mr. Abbott responded to the crowd with loud applause and chants of “We stand with Diane.”
She said she was “touched” by the support. “I want to say thank you… to the people of Hackney who have supported me year after year, over the decades.
“This is not about me. This is absolutely not about me. [about] Levels of racism in Britain. This is about the continued marginalization of black women for decades. My mother came to this country in the 1950s as a nurse. She was part of the generation of women who built the National Health Service.
“We have to stand up. We have to take a stand. We have to stand firm. We have to stand up. We have to stand firm. We have to make sure that generations of young black people have suffered because of the race we have had to suffer.” We must ensure that no one has to suffer from discrimination.”
Earlier, former Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn joined the crowd on the steps. Mr Corbyn said it was a “rally of unity”, adding: “I can’t imagine any MP in any other part of this country rallying so much support on such short notice.” Greetings of support from across the border in Islington. ”
Mr Corbyn told the Guardian: [Starmer should] Please show solidarity with Diane for the incredible abuse she has suffered, not just over the past few weeks, but over the past few years. It’s absolutely shameful.
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“And they used her image and story as a means to raise money for the Labor Party, while at the same time refusing to acknowledge the injustice of excluding her from the party.”
In response to the Guardian’s revelations, Mr Hester apologized for his comments, but denied he was motivated by race or gender.
A statement from Hester’s healthcare technology company, Phoenix Partnership (TPP), said that Hester “admits that he made rude comments to Diane Abbott in a private meeting several years ago, but The criticism had nothing to do with her gender or skin color.”
The statement added: “He called Diane Abbott twice.” [on Monday] She has tried to directly apologize for the hurt he caused her and deeply regrets his comments. He wants to make it clear that he considers racism a poison that has no place in public life. ”
Mr Abbott, who has represented Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987, was arrested in April last year after suggesting that Jewish, Irish and Traveler people were not subject to racism “all their lives”. He was suspended from the Labor Party.
Despite Mr Abbott apologizing for his comments, Keir Starmer ignored calls for him to be reinstated as an MP.
Labor called on the Conservatives to return donations from Mr Hester and his company.
The TPP has been paid more than £400m by the NHS and other government agencies since 2016, primarily to manage 60m medical records in the UK.
