Diane Abbott’s charity left to languish with £2k in the bank

Has Jeremy Corbyn’s former lover Diane abbott lost enthusiasm for the charity she set up five years ago?

The recent set of accounts for the modestly named Diane abbott Foundation would appear to indicate so. The total annual turnover for the year ending December 2017 was just £1,862.98, which is a director’s loan due to be repaid when there are sufficient funds.

This is a major downturn compared with 2016, when the Labour MP attracted a £10,000 donation from top law firm Linklaters. However, I have learned that the firm has not made any further donations — and no others are forthcoming.

The foundation’s website indicates very little activity, too, citing initiatives abbott launched in 1993 and 1999, and a list of future projects, which include conferences, mentoring and work placement initiatives.

abbott, 65, came under criticism in 2016 for spending virtually all the foundation’s £17,183.57 annual income on an awards ceremony for London schools and The Black Child — a noncharitable campaign she set up in 1999 to raise the achievement levels of black pupils. The charity’s records show that £210 was spent on printing, £130.59 on plaques, £2,352 on design and production, and a sumptuous £13,447.52 on catering and room hire.

This is an interesting contrast with the foundation’s stated purposes, as outlined on the Charity Commission website: ‘ Makes grants to organisations; provides services; provides advocacy/advice/information; sponsors or undertakes research.’

Given abbott’s head for figures — she memorably declared in a radio interview during last year’s election campaign that a Labour government would hire 10,000 police officers for £300,000 (an annual salary of just £30 a year) — it is perhaps not surprising that her charity’s financial donations appear to have dried up.

abbott stood down as shadow Home secretary for a few days following her election gaffes, subsequently explaining she has type 2 diabetes and her ‘blood sugar was out of control’.

a Charity Commission spokesman says: ‘ Charities exist to benefit society and it is important that trustees are able to explain how their activities meet this purpose.’

Diane abbott’s office declined to comment.