Diane Abbott slams Speaker for not calling her to talk on race row despite standing up over 40 times
Diane Abbott has criticised the Speaker after he failed to call her during today’s Prime Minister’s Questions, which was dominated by the race row surrounding her.
Sky News has seen that Ms Abbott stood up 46 times in the Commons to try and have her say in the debate, without success.
The row was sparked by comments from Tory donor Frank Hester, who allegedly said the MP made him “want to hate all black women” and that she “should be shot”.
However, despite rising in her seat and trying to catch Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s eye throughout the Commons session, Ms Abbott was not invited to speak.
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In a post on X, former Labour MP Ms Abbott wrote: “I don’t know whose interests the Speaker thinks he is serving. But it is not the interests of the Commons or democracy.”
She has previously said Mr Hester’s alleged comments have put her in a “frightening” position.
A number of MPs have raised the Commons matter, with Labour MP Stella Creasy writing on X at the time: “Right now Diane Abbott is standing to ask a question in prime minister’s questions. As her safety is debated by others. Something very wrong if her voice isn’t heard today…”
Rosie Duffield, the Labour MP for Canterbury, said it was “extremely uncomfortable to witness” and added: “While others were speaking about her, Diane Abbott was not selected to speak herself, why?”
Diane Abbott during PMQs
Former shadow women and equalities secretary Dawn Butler told Sky News that Labour’s black female MPs took Ms Abbott to lunch today after she was denied the chance to ask a question during PMQs.
Speaking to Niall Paterson for the Sky News Daily Podcast, Ms Butler said she felt Rishi Sunak had “let down” Ms Abbott in his response.
“It affects her,” she said. “We are not invincible. We get these labels of ‘strong black woman’, or ‘angry black woman’ – we are not invincible. It does affect us.”
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A spokesperson for Sir Lindsay said: “During Prime Minister’s Questions, the Speaker must select MPs from either side of the House on an alternating basis for fairness.
“This takes place within a limited time frame, with the chair prioritising members who are already listed on the order paper. This week – as is often the case – there was not enough time to call all members who wanted to ask a question.”
The row over Mr Hester dominated today’s session, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer attacking the prime minister for being “bankrolled” by the businessman, who is the chief executive of the healthcare software firm The Phoenix Partnership.
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Starmer presses PM on donor row
Mr Hester has donated £10m to the Conservatives since the 2019 election either through individual means or via his firm.
Mr Sunak has come under increasing pressure to return the funds which Mr Hester and his healthcare software firm had gifted the Tories – something the prime minister appeared to rule out.
After his remarks were first reported in the Guardian, the businessman said he was “deeply sorry”, but insisted they had “nothing to do with [Ms Abbott’s] gender nor colour of skin”.
During the terse session, Mr Sunak echoed his statement from Tuesday night, calling the businessman’s alleged remarks “racist” and saying there was “no place for racism in Britain”.
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‘He wasn’t rude, he was racist’
But he said Mr Hester had “apologised genuinely for his comments and that remorse should be accepted” and accused Sir Keir of supporting ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who he said “let antisemitism run rife” during his tenure.
Sir Keir replied: “The difference is he is scared of his party. I have changed my party.”
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn also accused Mr Sunak of “putting money before morals”, adding: “This is complete rubbish. [Mr Hester] apologised for being rude.
“He wasn’t rude. He was racist, he was odious and he was downright bloody dangerous.”
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The Scottish Conservatives broke ranks shortly after PMQs to call on the government to “carefully review the donations” in light of Mr Hester’s alleged comments, which they said were “racist and wrong”.
Both Sir Keir and Mr Flynn were seen approaching Ms Abbott, who now sits as an independent after she had the Labour whip removed over comments she made last year, and spoke to her in the Commons after PMQs concluded.
Ms Abbott later retweeted a claim that in the conversation with the Labour leader, she had asked for the whip to be restored, having been suspended last year after suggesting Jewish, Irish and Traveller people did not face racism – something she later apologised for.
The dates for Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK have been announced, with the US president due to be welcomed by the King from 17 to 19 September.
Buckingham Palace also confirmed that President Trump and first lady Melania will be hosted by the King and Queen at Windsor Castle.
It was expected that the three-day state visit would take place in September after Mr Trump let slip earlier in April that he believed that was when his second “fest” was being planned for.
Windsor was also anticipated to be the location after the US president told reporters in the Oval Office that the letter from the King said Windsor would be the setting. Refurbishment works at Buckingham Palace also meant that Windsor was used last week for French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit.
This will be Mr Trump’s second state visit to the UK, an unprecedented gesture towards an American leader, having previously been invited to Buckingham Palace in 2019.
Donald Trump and Melania Trump posing with Charles and Camilla in 2019. Pic: Reuters
He has also been to Windsor Castle before, in 2018, but despite the considerable military pageantry of the day, and some confusion around inspecting the guard, it was simply for tea with Queen Elizabeth II.
Further details of what will happen during the three-day visit in September will be announced in due course.
On Friday, Sky News revealed it is now unlikely that the US president will address parliament, usually an honour given to visiting heads of state as part of their visit. Some MPs had raised significant concerns about him being given the privilege.
But the House of Commons will not be sitting at the time of Mr Trump’s visit as it will rise for party conference season on the 16 September, meaning the president will not be able to speak in parliament as President Macron did during his state visit this week. However, the House of Lords will be sitting.
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Labour MP: ‘Trump isn’t welcome here’
In February this year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer presented the US president with the letter from the King inviting him to visit during a meeting at the White House.
After reading it, Mr Trump said it was a “great, great honour”, adding “and that says at Windsor – that’s really something”.
In February, Sir Keir Starmer revealed a letter from the King inviting Donald Trump to the UK. Pic: Reuters
In the letter, the King suggested they might meet at Balmoral or Dumfries House in Scotland first before the much grander state visit. However, it is understood that, although all options were explored, complexities in both the King and Mr Trump’s diaries meant it wasn’t possible.
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This week, it emerged that Police Scotland are planning for a summer visit from the US president, which is likely to see him visit one or both of his golf clubs in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire, and require substantial policing resources and probably units to be called in from elsewhere in the UK.
Precedent for second-term US presidents, who have already made a state visit, is usually tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.
A small plane has crashed at Southend Airport in Essex.
Essex Police said it was at the scene of a “serious incident”.
Images posted online showed huge flames and a large cloud of black smoke, with one witness saying they saw a “fireball”.
A police statement said: “We were alerted shortly before 4pm to reports of a collision involving one 12-metre plane.
“We are working with all emergency services at the scene now and that work will be ongoing for several hours.
“We would please ask the public to avoid this area where possible while this work continues.”
A huge fireball near the airport. Pic: Ben G
It has been reported that the plane involved in the incident is a Beech B200 Super King Air.
According to flight-tracking service Flightradar, it took off at 3.48pm and was bound for Lelystad, a city in the Netherlands.
One man, who was at Southend Airport with his family around the time of the incident, said the aircraft “crashed headfirst into the ground”.
John Johnson said: “About three or four seconds after taking off, it started to bank heavily to its left, and then within a few seconds of that happening, it more or less inverted and crashed.
“There was a big fireball. Obviously, everybody was in shock in terms of witnessing it. All the kids saw it and the families saw it.”
Mr Johnson added that he phoned 999 to report the crash.
Southend Airport said the incident involved “a general aviation aircraft”.
Four flights scheduled to take off from Southend this afternoon were cancelled, according to its website.
Flightradar data shows two planes that had been due to land at Southend were diverted to nearby airports London Gatwick and London Stansted.
Plumes of black smoke. Pic: UKNIP
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said four crews, along with off-road vehicles, have attended the scene.
Four ambulances and four hazardous area response team vehicles are also at the airport, as well as an air ambulance, the East of England Ambulance Service said.
Its statement described the incident as “still developing”.
Fire engines at the airport
David Burton-Sampson, the MP for Southend West and Leigh, posted on social media: “I am aware of an incident at Southend Airport. Please keep away and allow the emergency services to do their work.
“My thoughts are with everyone involved.”
Local councillor Matt Dent said on X: “At present all I know is that a small plane has crashed at the airport. My thoughts are with all those involved, and with the emergency services currently responding to the incident.”
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UK
Heidi Alexander says ‘fairness’ will be government’s ‘guiding principle’ when it comes to taxes at next budget
Another hint that tax rises are coming in this autumn’s budget has been given by a senior minister.
Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander was asked if Sir Keir Starmer and the rest of the cabinet had discussed hiking taxes in the wake of the government’s failed welfare reforms, which were shot down by their own MPs.
Trevor Phillips asked specifically if tax rises were discussed among the cabinet last week – including on an away day on Friday.
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Tax increases were not discussed “directly”, Ms Alexander said, but ministers were “cognisant” of the challenges facing them.
Asked what this means, Ms Alexander added: “I think your viewers would be surprised if we didn’t recognise that at the budget, the chancellor will need to look at the OBR forecast that is given to her and will make decisions in line with the fiscal rules that she has set out.
“We made a commitment in our manifesto not to be putting up taxes on people on modest incomes, working people. We have stuck to that.”
Ms Alexander said she wouldn’t comment directly on taxes and the budget at this point, adding: “So, the chancellor will set her budget. I’m not going to sit in a TV studio today and speculate on what the contents of that budget might be.
“When it comes to taxation, fairness is going to be our guiding principle.”
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Afterwards, shadow home secretary Chris Philp told Phillips: “That sounds to me like a barely disguised reference to tax rises coming in the autumn.”
He then went on to repeat the Conservative attack lines that Labour are “crashing the economy”.
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Chris Philp also criticsed the government’s migration deal with France
Mr Philp then attacked the prime minister as “weak” for being unable to get his welfare reforms through the Commons.
Discussions about potential tax rises have come to the fore after the government had to gut its welfare reforms.
Sir Keir had wanted to change Personal Independence Payments (PIP), but a large Labour rebellion forced him to axe the changes.
With the savings from these proposed changes – around £5bn – already worked into the government’s sums, they will now need to find the money somewhere else.
The general belief is that this will take the form of tax rises, rather than spending cuts, with more money needed for military spending commitments, as well as other areas of priority for the government, such as the NHS.
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