Diane Abbott has sparked a furious backlash after claiming Jewish people are subject to “prejudice” not “racism”. The Labour MP made the comments in a letter to the Observer newspaper.
Cabinet minister Grant Shapps accused the former shadow home secretary of “casually spouting hateful anti-semitism” and urged Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to take action.
Meanwhile, Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary Jon Ashworth branded the letter “utterly offensive”.
In her letter, Ms Abbott said: “Tomiwa Owolade claims that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people all suffer from ‘racism’.
“They undoubtedly experience prejudice. This is similar to racism and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable.
“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.
“In pre-civil rights America, Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers were not required to sit at the back of the bus.
“In apartheid South Africa, these groups were allowed to vote.
“And at the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships.”
Grant Shapps said: “Once again, Jewish people have to wake up and see a Labour MP casually spouting hateful anti-semitism.
“Keir Starmer are you actually going to do anything?”
Tory peer Lord Wolfson tweeted: “Diane Abbott is right on one point: my relatives were never forced to sit at the back of the bus. There aren’t any seats on cattle trucks.
“Otherwise, minimising anti-Jewish racism as mere ‘prejudice’ is shameful from someone who takes the Labour whip.”
His post was retweeted by Minister for Women and Equalities Kemi Badenoch.
Labour and Ms Abbott have been contacted for comment.
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