Diane Abbott says Keir Starmer treated her as ‘a non-person’ during race row

The veteran Labour MP says she felt at risk after Frank Hester’s comments and expected more support from the Labour leader

Diane Abbott has accused Sir Keir Starmer of treating her like a “non-person” during a race row over comments made by major Tory donor.

In March, The Guardian reported that Frank Hester had told colleagues that looking at Ms Abbott makes you “want to hate all black women” and that she “should be shot”.

The veteran Labour MP said she expected more support from the prime minister and the Labour Party, having been left feeling in danger by Frank Hester’s comments.

“One of the reasons it made me frightened is two MPs have been killed in recent years,” Ms Abbott said.

Diane Abbott was suspended after suggesting Jewish, Irish and Traveller people experience prejudice but not racism (PA Wire)

She told BBC’s Newsnight comments such as Mr Hester’s “wind up a certain sort of nutcase and it makes you more vulnerable”.

But, despite feeling unsafe, Ms Abbott said Sir Keir “never reached out to me personally and did treat me as a non-person”.

Mr Hester, chief executive of The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) is reported to have said while speaking about a female executive from another company: “It’s like trying not to be racist but you see Diane Abbott on the TV, and you’re just like… you just want to hate all Black women because she’s there.

“And I don’t hate all Black women at all, but I think she should be shot. [The executive] and Diane Abbott need to be shot.”

Frank Hester allegedly said Diane Abbott made him want to ‘hate all black women’ (PA Media)

Mr Hester, who has donated £15m to the Conservatives, later admitted making “rude” comments about Ms Abbott but said they had “nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”.

Ms Abbott said: “If somebody was threatening to have you shot, you would have felt your party would have offered you more support, giving you advice on safety and security, even kind of commiserate with you. And none of that happened.”

She also told Newsnight of her suspension from the Parliamentary Labour Party that Sir Keir “wanted to finish his clear-out” of left-wingers.

She added: “I think what they were trying to do was to string out and string out the investigation. So when a general election is around the corner, they could just move me out of the way as a Labour candidate because I wouldn’t be in the parliamentary Labour Party, and they would parachute in somewhere else.”

Asked why she thought Sir Keir wanted her out of the party, Ms Abbott said: “Keir Starmer is always saying, It’s the new Labour Party... and how could you make it look more new than by getting rid of Diane Abbott?"

A Labour spokesman said: “Keir Starmer has great respect for Diane Abbott and she continues to be an inspiration to many. There is no doubt that she has received the most abuse of any MP just because of her gender and the colour of her skin, and that is completely reprehensible and wrong.

“The party, including Keir Starmer, vocally condemned Frank Hester’s vile comments and reached out to Diane at the time to offer support.

“It’s simply wrong to say that there was any plan being pushed by the leadership to force her out. We continue to value Diane’s significant contribution to public life.”

Ms Abbott had been suspended from Labour after she suggested that Jewish, Irish and Traveller people experience prejudice but not racism.

But she was given the Labour whip back ahead of the general election and held the Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat she has represented since 1987.