Boris Johnson seems to be in enough bother without his opponents making unsubstantiated claims against him. But that’s exactly what Diane Abbott, the sexagenarian Stoke Newington MP, did yesterday when she appeared on yesterday’s episode of Broadcasting House, the BBC news review show.
Abbott – who was ostensibly there to discuss allegations surrounding Chris Pincher – decided, er, to spout some of her own. The former shadow home secretary made claims instead about Boris Johnson when she was asked if a man sexually assaulting a woman would have been treated differently from Pincher allegedly groping two men.
She replied that: ‘It might be treated differently. But that’s because Boris Johnson has been rumoured to be the one who likes assaulting women. So it’s sheer hypocrisy from him.’ Paddy O’Connell, who hosts the show, promptly cut her off to distance the BBC from her claims.
He said: ‘That’s not been printed this morning, it’s not being said by the BBC. Diane, you’ve got to answer my questions rather than raising new claims.’ Unsurprisingly, the BBC removed the programme from its BBC Sounds catch-up service before omitting Abbott’s comments about Johnson.
When contacted by reporters, Abbott’s office did not choose to provide a comment. Maybe that’s the best way going forward eh, Diane?
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