After appearing on Question Time in Derby last week Diane Abbott wrote:
“Over the long political career I have appeared on BBC Question Time innumerable times, but I have never had such a horrible experience as I had in Derby last week.”
A spokesperson for Ms Abbott then doubled down on these remarks by saying: “A public broadcaster like the BBC should be expected to be a model of impartiality and equality. The BBC cannot claim anything of the sort when analysis of the programme shows that the only black woman on the panel was jeered at and interrupted more times than any other panellist, including the chair itself.
The media must stop legitimising mistreatment, bias and abuse against Ms Abbott as a black woman in public life. The BBC should be ashamed that their programming is complicit in such behaviour.”
However popular Tory backbencher Jacob Rees Mogg has said the real reason Ms Abbott received such a hostile response was that the audience and people of Derby overwhelmingly want to Leave the EU:
People want to get out and they want their vote respected. It’s only in the political media world we inhabit that there’s this very strong desire to stop Brexit at any cost.
I didn’t see Question Time because I was actually addressing the Nottingham Conservatives. And there again, it was 200/300 people, and all very strongly in favour of leaving. You might be more surprised about a Question Time broader audience, that’s right.
But in Derby, the feeling is ‘we want to leave’. And somebody who’s seen as trying to frustrate that is inevitably going to get a difficult ride.”
Meanwhile The Labour Party has issued an official complaint to the BBC over the way Diane Abbott was treated on Question Time claiming that they ‘legitimised racism’ over what they say was the interrupting of Diane Abbott twice as many times as her Tory counterpart on the show.
Please share this article and be sure to follow us on Facebook by Clicking Here for more!
Lead Correspondent | David Clews is the Lead Correspondent for UNN, with over 20 years of political/campaigning experience and a wealth of social media and communication skills David gets to the heart of what is really important to the real people of the UK.
Keep up to date with all of David & UN’s work by linking up with us on our Social Media Channels by Clicking Here Now: https://unitynewsnetwork.co.uk/our-social-media-links/
