Shambolic and ‘unwell’ Abbott is forced out

DIANE Abbott vowed to make a swift return to Labour’s front bench last night, despite being sidelined following a series of shambolic media performances.

The shadow home secretary was ‘temporarily’ replaced yesterday following a series of stumbling media performances that dented Labour’s remaining credibility on security.

Jeremy Corbyn said his ally and former lover was ‘not well’ and needed time off to recover from an unspecified illness. She was replaced by veteran Labour MP Lyn Brown, who was one of a string of MPs to resign from Mr Corbyn’s front bench last year in protest at his leadership.

Last night it was unclear whether she would become home secretary if Labour gets into government.

But friends of Miss Abbott insisted she had not asked to step aside and had been removed ‘without consultation’. And in a message on Twitter, Miss Abbott wrote: ‘Touched by all the messages of support. Still standing! Will rejoin the fray soon. Vote Labour!’

The party’s unprecedented decision to replace the shadow home secretary on the eve of polling day follows mounting concern about the impact her erratic media performances were having on Mr Corbyn’s bid for power.

Labour and Tory candidates have both reported voter concern about the prospect of Miss Abbott taking control of Britain’s security apparatus and immigration regime. Last month, she infamously struggled to explain the costings for Labour’s plan to recruit 10,000 new police officers while on LBC radio – at one point suggesting each officer would only get paid £30.

And on Monday Miss Abbott gave a faltering performance on Sky News in which she was unable to answer basic questions on her ministerial brief.

That performance saw her ordered off the airwaves by Labour’s high command on Tuesday.

She pulled out of an appearance on the BBC’s Woman’s Hour show, despite being photographed nearby just 20 minutes before she was due to go on air.

Labour said she was ‘ill’, but Miss Abbott’s office refused to comment on her health. Her replacement shadow home secretary Lyn Brown was one of 172 Labour MPs to back a no-confidence vote in Jeremy Corbyn last summer, saying his position was ‘untenable’.

She hit the headlines in 2011 after launching a foul-mouthed tirade at a blind reporter who accidentally strayed into her path. Witnesses reported her shouting: ‘For **** ’s sake, move out of my ******* way,’ and she was forced to apologise.

Shadow cabinet minister Barry Gardiner yesterday claimed Miss Abbott was seriously ill, saying; ‘I understand that it is a condition which has been diagnosed and is long-term.’