Amber Rudd sparks race row after referring to Diane Abbott as 'coloured'
Rudd made the comments while appearing on the Jeremy Vine show on BBC Radio 2, to talk about the abuse received by female members of parliament.
"It definitely is worse if you're a woman and it's worst of all if you're a coloured woman," she said.
"I know that Diane Abbott gets a huge amount of abuse and I think that's something we need to continue to call out."
The comments triggered outrage on social media after a week in which both major parties in UK politics have been battling race rows.
Abbott described the comments as "offensive.
""The term "coloured", is an outdated, offensive and revealing choice of words," she tweeted.
The Conservatives were hit by a series of allegations this week of Islamophobia by party members while the Labour party's ongoing anti-Semitism crisis increased on Thursday after the Qualities and Human Rights Commission announced that it was looking at taking action against the party for alleged "unlawful discrimination" towards Jewish people.
This is a developing story...
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