Diane Abbott will not be prosecuted over 'racist' tweet

The shadow health minister has been at the centre of an uproar after a comment on Twitter was interpreted as racist

Miss Abbot, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, has apologised for any misinterpretation following a comment she posted on Twitter.

The shadow health minister found herself at the centre of a racism row after claiming on the social media site that white people love to play divide and rule and that black people should not wash their dirty linen in public.

The comments were made as part of an exchange with freelance journalist Bim Adewunmi discussing the use of the term 'black community' following the Stephen Lawrence murder trial.

Miss Abbott tweeted: 'I understand the cultural point you are making but you are playing into a divide and rule agenda.'

The MP has since received calls for her resignation and the Metropolitan Police have received complaints from at least 40 people.

'We reviewed the circumstances of the comments and have considered all of those circumstances and the information available to us, we do not believe a criminal offence has been committed,' says a spokesman for the Met.

Miss Abbott has since used her Twitter account to explain that her messages were taken out of context.

She wrote: 'Tweet taken out of context refers to nature of 19th century European colonialism. Bit much to get into 140 characters.'

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