Diane Abbott’s train wreck interview branded 'most excruciating' EVER by ex-Labour adviser
DIANE ABBOTT has been blasted for giving the “most excruciating” interview in living memory after she muddled up the figures surrounding Labour’s promise to introduce 10,000 additional police officers.
Kevin Meagher: Diane Abbott’s interview was EXCRUCIATING
Former Labour Party advisor Kevin Meagher branded the performance “unforgivable” as he told talkRADIO the car-crash interview an example of what “unprofessional politics” looked like.
He said: “What you see here with Corbyn, Mcdonnell and Diane Abbott is what unprofessional politics looks like. It’s a shambles.
“Labour is in this insane position where it’s actual policies… individually are popular policies. If they were sold and packaged by people with credibility and ability to sell a political message Labour would be in a very different place.”
Mr Meagher said the policies were being ridiculed because of who was presenting them and the shadow home secretary’s interview was unforgivable.
He said: “But the actual policies are being dragged down because of the kind of ridiculous way they are presented.
“Diane Abbott this morning, it was the most excruciating interview I think I have ever heard any politician ever give. It is unforgivable, it really is unforgivable.”
The Labour minister was caught off guard on Tuesday as LBC host Nick Ferrari quizzed her on the party’s pledge to fund 10,000 additional community police officers across the 43 forces in England and Wales by reversing Conservative plans for cuts to capital gains tax.
Asked on how Mr Corbyn’s party would pay for the force, Ms Abbott said: “Well, if we recruit the 10,000 men and women over a four-year period, we believe it will be about £300,000.”
Diane Abbott faces a grilling over Labour’s police officer pledge
It was the most excruciating interview I think I have ever heard any politician ever give
To which Ferrari demanded: “£300,000 for 10,000 police officers? How much are you paying them?”
Ms Abbott added: “No, I mean, sorry, they will cost, it will cost about, about £80 million.
"We get to that figure because we anticipate recruiting 25,000 extra police officers a year at least over a period of four years. And we are looking at both what average police wages are generally but also specifically police wages in London.”
Continuing his questioning of Ms Abbott, Ferrari insisted: “I don’t understand if you divide 80 million by 10,000 you get 8,000. Is that what you are going to be paying these policemen and women?
“What are these police officers going to be paid? Has this been thought through? Where are the figures?”
To which the Labour politician responded: “The figures are that additional cost in year one when we anticipate recruiting about 250,000 policemen, will be £64.3 million.”
And as she was quizzed further on the figure, Ms Abbott added: “No, we are recruiting 2,000 – perhaps – 250.”
“So where did 250,000 come from?,” Ferrari demanded - resulting in Ms Abbott insisting it came from the LBC host.