Diane Abbott

There has been so much written about Diane Abbott's 'racist' comment on Twitter and I am not going to change anyone's mind by giving my opinion on her Tweet.

However.... Diane Abbott's excuses got to me! First she claimed that "tweet taken out of context". Apart from the fact that the 'taken out of context' excuse is usually the last refuge of the scoundrel, it was not true in this case. Examine the history of the Tweet conversation and you will see that rather rather than concerning the interesting subject of the "nature of 19th century European colonialism", it was about race in the present day. Diane Abbott's final excuse was entirely predictable as it would always be accepted by the lazy "Bit much to get into 140 characters." The only slight problem with this excuse is that Diane Abbott had over 30 characters left in which she could have added some context or even just used the past tense.

Diane Abbott has form in this area, watch this video from June 2010...

Watch the video to end and then judge Diane Abbott.

Also Diane Abbott reportedly said staff at her local east London hospital who were "blonde, blue-eyed Finnish girls" and so were not suitable to be nurses because they had "never met a black person before".


Is Diane Abbott racist? Maybe not.
Was the statement, as made, racist? Yes.
Should Diane Abbott apologise? Yes, but so far the apology has been less than fulsome as she has tried to wriggle out of responsibility for what she Tweeted.
Should Diane Abbott pay for the comment by losing her job? What's sauce for Patrick Mercer and Carol Thatcher is sauce for Diane Abbott.

Sacked for what?

Carol Thatcher was sacked by the BBC for making an inappropriate remark off-air but in the presence of BBC staff. The Mail helpfully lists the on-air obscenities made by BBC presenters which have not resulted in their being sacked; here a few examples (do read the rest though):

"Chris Moyles

BBC RADIO 1 DJ, £630,000 Salary
May 2006

Prompted his guest, Hollywood star Halle Berry, to ask 'are we having a racist moment?' after he impersonated a black man: 'I'm a black American guy. A big fat black guy. Put your hands in the air. I don't want to be shooting your a***.'

December 2008

Issued a statement in apology after saying Poles make good prostitutes: 'I've always found in my experience prostitutes make very good cleaners, and their ironing, brilliant. 'I just find if you're Polish you're just very good at ironing . . . and prostitutes, (they're) very good also at fixing cars.'

January 2009

Accused of trivialising the Holocaust: 'I went off to Ireland and other places to film and unlike a lot of the Who Do You Think You Are? shows, I didn't go to Auschwitz. Pretty much everyone goes there whether or not they're Jewish. They just seem to pass through there on their way to Florida.' "


Frankie Boyle

STAND-UP COMIC AND TV PANELIST

October 2008
Mock The Week, BBC2.

When asked what the Queen didn't say in her Christmas message: 'I have had a few medical issues this year - I'm now so old that my p**** is haunted.'



Jonathan Ross

BBC CHAT SHOW HOST, £6m SALARY
Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, BBC1.

June 2005

OFCOM investigation cleared the presenter of any wrongdoing after BBC showed pre-recorded interview in which he asked David Cameron about his youthful sexual fantasies: 'Did you, or did you not, have a w*** thinking about Margaret Thatcher?'

April 2008

In a foul-mouthed interview, he joked with Gwyneth Paltrow about wanting to have sex with her: 'If you want to have sex I'll phone my wife. If she gave me permission, I would f*** you, yes. Because, you know what, you are so nice and, really, you're gagging for it.'



Jo Brand

STAND-UP COMEDIAN

January 2009
Live At The Apollo, BBC1.

Police investigation launched after the BNP complained over her joke: 'Let's start with some important political news. Did you hear this, right, that BNP members and supporters have had their names and addresses published on the internet? Hurrah! Now we know who to send the poo to!'




Sarah Kennedy

RADIO 2 DJ, APPROX £175,000 SALARY

November 2007

BBC apologised and said she had been 'spoken to' after suggesting she could not see a black man in the dark: 'You know what happened to me yesterday. It was this black guy. Lucky he opened his mouth to yawn or do something and I saw him. He was wearing a black hat, black clothes. He was just invisible.'



Sara Cox

RADIO 1 DJ, APPROX £200,000 SALARY

August 2000

Reprimanded by BBC bosses, who issued a public apology, over 'ill-judged' comments on the Queen Mother's centenary: 'It's the Queen Mum's birthday today. Ah, she smells of wee, but we all love her.' "

I suppose the big difference is that only Carol Thatcher's mum is Lady Thatcher.