Diane Abbott and Jeremy ‘were lovers in the 1970s’
JEREMY Corbyn had a sexual relationship with fellow Leftwing MP Diane Abbott who he has now appointed to his Shadow Cabinet, it was claimed last night.
The alleged affair emerged after Mr Corbyn was criticised for failing to step in after Miss Abbott ‘confronted’ another woman Labour MP.
Witnesses told The Times that Miss Abbott interrupted and criticised MP Jess Phillips for asking a ‘sanctimonious’ question about the lack of women in senior positions in Mr Corbyn’s top team. The incident occurred during Monday’s highly charged meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party.
Miss Abbott, who has been appointed shadow international development secretary, was not reprimanded by Mr Corbyn for attacking the colleague who questioned his commitment to sexual equality, it is claimed.
The Hackney MP has been a staunch supporter of Mr Corbyn’s campaign, and it emerged yesterday that the pair had a brief relationship in the late 1970s when he was a councillor in Haringey, North London.
Mr Corbyn was separated from his first wife, Jane Chapman, a fellow Labour councillor he had married in 1974. A party colleague of Mr Corbyn and his former wife, both 66, said Miss Chapman had hoped they would be reconciled but believed his burgeoning relationship with Miss Abbott, 61, made their divorce inevitable.
A source close to Mr Corbyn – who has been married three times – confirmed to the newspaper that there had been a ‘brief fling’ with Miss Abbott, which included a holiday together.
Miss Phillips said after her clash with Miss Abbott: ‘It’s a shame there was not more sorority. We women need to stick together.’
Miss Abbott was working at the National Council for Civil Liberties when she is believed to have begun her relationship with Mr Corbyn. Friends said the couple made no secret of their affair and Miss Abbott regularly stayed at Mr Corbyn’s home.
The new Labour leader was elected as MP for Islington North in 1983 and four years later Miss Abbott won the neighbouring constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington, becoming the first black woman MP.
Mr Corbyn married for the second time in 1987, to Claudia Bracchitta, and the pair had three sons. Their middle son, Seb, helped run his leadership campaign and works for hard-Left Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell. Mr Corbyn is now married to Laura Alvarez.
A spokesman for Mr Corbyn said he would not comment. Miss Abbott did not respond to requests for comment.
‘A brief fling and a holiday’