Londoner’s Diary
As Diane Abbott made a last stand for her political career yesterday at a rally outside Hackney Town Hall, we spotted a familiar figure holding the veteran MP’s hand throughout. To her left stood Ngozi Fulani, who runs the Hackney-based Sistah Space charity in Abbott’s constituency. Fulani made headlines in 2022 when she complained about one of the late Queen’s ladies-in-waiting, Lady Susan Hussey, repeatedly asking her where she “really came from” at a Buckingham Palace reception.
At yesterday’s hastily organised rally, Fulani escorted Abbott to the steps of Hackney Town Hall and stood beside her, largely in silence, as the MP told locals she was “so shocked and so alarmed about what is going on.” Abbott had the Labour whip restored this week but then there were confused briefings from Labour about whether or not she would be permitted to stand as a candidate in the seat she has represented since 1987. After the rally, Fulani and her Sistah Space colleagues released a video on social media. “They’re saying that they’ve taken the whip from her. They’ve given her back the whip,” said Fulani.
“The use of the word whip is very unfortunate but that’s another subject for another time.” She added: “I don’t know what is going on but it doesn’t feel good. We need clarity. Keir Starmer: you need to stop playing with us and treat Diane Abbott with respect. Treat Diane Abbott, and all of us, with respect.” During the Hussey scandal, Abbott said: “Ridiculous for a Buckingham Palace aide to be so rude to my friend and constituent Ngozi Fulani. Next thing they will be asking me ‘Where do you REALLY come from?’” Fulani received so much abuse on social media after complaining that she decided to temporarily step down as CEO of Sistah Space.
Security shoulders the blame after flag furore at festival
The bank holiday took an unexpected turn for some revellers at south London’s GALA music festival over the weekend. Three ticket holders were forcibly removed from the Peckham Rye Park event by security guards because they attempted to bring Palestinian flags onto the site. The festival organisers, after an online backlash, released a statement yesterday evening blaming the security guards. “It’s deeply saddening that these moments of solidarity were not consistently celebrated by our security team,” they wrote. After opening an investigation, the GALA organisers wrote that they had “parted ways with one security company”.
Gove gets cosy with Sam McAlister
Michael Gove is already enjoying his retirement from politics. Yesterday he was spotted lunching at Arlington, Jeremy King’s recently opened restaurant on the site of the old Le Caprice. Gove surprised many when he announced he would not stand in the general election, stepping back from front line politics after two decades at the top of the Conservative Party. In a playful move, Gove photobombed his close friend Sam McAlister, one of the journalists behind the Newsnight Prince Andrew interview, who was also lunching at Arlington. McAlister’s book Scoop, about the interview, was adapted into a Netflix film starring Billie Piper.
