Unevidenced Diane Abbott quote about ‘the problem with Britain’ recirculates online

Multiple images and posts have recently been shared on Facebook and X that claim the politician Diane Abbott MP said: “The problem in Britain is not immigration, the problem in Britain is white people”. Others feature an image of the politician with the quote “the problem is white people” imposed across her. 

However, as we’ve written before, there’s no evidence Ms Abbott ever said this. 

This claim has been circulating online for at least a decade.

Ms Abbott has also denied she’s said this. In 2022, she told Reuters she had “no record or recollection of ever saying this.”

She said: “It is not something I would ever intentionally say because it is not something I agree with.” 

Searching on Google for this exact quote also yields no evidence of her saying it. There are no results available for this quote in 2014 or earlier, which is the earliest date we’ve found it attributed to her on social media. 

Some versions of the claim also include apparent Labour branding on the right hand side of the image, with a logo that says “We are Labour”. However, Ms Abbott is not currently a Labour MP. In April 2023, Ms Abbott lost the Labour whip, and since then she has sat in the House of Commons as an independent. 

In 2012, Ms Abbott posted on X (formerly Twitter): “White people love playing ‘divide & rule’ We should not play their game #tacticasoldascolonialism”. She apologised for posting this, and deleted her tweet. 

Ms Abbott later said the post had been taken out of context. In a statement, issued by Labour at the time, she said: “I understand people have interpreted my comments as making generalisations about white people. I do not believe in doing that.”

False or misleading claims online about politicians have the potential to harm individuals, groups and democratic processes and institutions. Online claims can spread fast and far, and are difficult to contain and correct. 

Image courtesy of Chris McAndrew.