Abbott in ‘worst interview ever’ as she fluffs police funding quiz
DIANE ABBOTT plunged Labour’s spending policy into further confusion today as she sought to explain funding for 10,000 more police officers.
The shadow home secretary gave conflicting figures as she was quizzed on the cost of boosting police forces.
She also insisted the funding for extra police officers was the only money that Labour had so far allocated as coming from revenue to be raised by reversing cuts to capital gains tax.
Critics hit out at her performance, with one commentator on Twitter branding it: “The worst Diane Abbott car crash interview EVER! There is a lot of competition too.”
Ms Abbott, one of Jeremy Corbyn’s closest allies, also clashed with Piers Morgan on ITV’s Good Morning Britain as he grilled her on whether a Labour government would launch a nuclear strike to defend Britain.
The senior Labour MP had sought this morning to get her party off on the election front foot after the bank holiday weekend.
But her first attempt to explain the extra police figures on LBC radio would have left officers earning £30 a year and the second go put them on £8,000.
Questioned by presenter Nick Ferrari over the cost, Ms Abbott said: “Well, if we recruit the 10,000 police men and women over a four-year period, we believe it will be about £300,000.”
Ferrari replied: “£300,000 for 10,000 police officers? How much are you paying them?”
Ms Abbott replied: “No, I mean, sorry, they will cost, it will cost about, about £80 million.”
“About £80 million? How do you get to that figure?” he said.
Ms Abbott answered: “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.”
Mr Ferrari interrupted: “But I don’t understand. If you divide £80 million by 10,000, you get 8,000.”
He also pointed out that if the whole scheme was costing £300,000, then the officers would be on £30 a year.
In a stumbling performance, Ms Abbott also suggested that 250,000 police officers would be recruited.
Labour has said its plans for extra “bobbies on the beat” would be funded by reversing Conservative cuts to capital gains tax (CGT).
The Conservatives have already dismissed Labour’s proposal as “nonsensical”, saying the party had already committed the CGT savings to fund a dozen other pledges. Ms Abbott denied the CGT revenues had been committed to fund any other policies.
During the LBC interview, Ms Abbott eventually laid out Labour’s correct spending plans for the extra officers, running to about £300 million a year.
Later on Sky News, Mr Corbyn defended her, saying: “She corrected the figure and that’s the figure and it will be paid for by not going ahead with the cuts in capital gains tax.”
Asked if it was embarrassing that Ms Abbott got the figures wrong, he said: “Not at all. We have corrected the figure and it will be absolutely clear now, today and in the manifesto. I’m not embarrassed in the slightest.”
Pressed on ITV’s Good Morning Britain about whether Labour under Mr Corbyn would be prepared to use Britain’s nuclear deterrent, Ms Abbott said: “A Labour government would do everything in its power to protect the people of this country, and we believe there are more important and vital ways to protect the people of this country than actually nuclear weapons.”
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: “One of Corbyn’s closest allies has clearly shown Labour’s sums don’t add up, they would weaken our defences, and their nonsensical promises aren’t worth the paper they are printed on.”