Diane Abbott temporarily stands aside as shadow home secretary
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Diane Abbott, Labour’s shadow home secretary, is temporarily stepping aside from her role as a result of ill health, the party said on Wednesday.
A statement from Labour said:
Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, has asked Lyn Brown to stand in for Diane Abbott as Shadow Home Secretary for the period of her ill health.
Ms Abbott has faced criticism for a series of media performances where she struggled to answer questions on key policies such as the cost of Labour’s proposed increase in police numbers.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast from the campaign trail, Mr Corbyn said Ms Abbott had received “totally unfair levels of attack and abuse, not just recently but over many years”.
He added:
She’s not (been) well for a couple of days and she’s taking a break from the campaign. Of course Diane is somebody who works extremely hard and represents her community very well.
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