Diane Abbott gets up and walks away when Jewish teenager grills her on the Tube over remark that Orthodox Jews wear 'costumes'

  • Ms Abbott was last week asked to clarify her comment about charedi Jews
  • She said they were targets of hate crime because 'they wear that costume'
  • The Labour MP made the comment on Question Time earlier this year
  • She walked away when told by a Tube passenger: 'It's not called a costume, love'
Diane Abbott walked away when a Tube passenger grilled the Labour MP over her comment that Orthodox Jews were targets of hate crime because of the 'costumes' they wear.
The Shadow Home Secretary appeared on BBC Question Time earlier this year and commented that her constituency has a community of charedi Jews that are 'actually subject to hate crime more than other Jews, because they wear that costume'.
Ms Abbott was grilled last week over her remark by 18-year-old London Tube passenger Alex Rose, but the Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP ignored the question and walked away.  
The Shadow Home Secretary had commented that charedi Jews are 'actually subject to hate crime more than other Jews, because they wear that costume'Ms Abbott glanced at the 18-year-old for a moment before standing up and moving farther down the train
Diane Abbott was asked 'why did you tell us that we wear costumes?' by Alex Rose on the Tube
Mr Rose, from Cockfosters, north London, asked Ms Abbott: 'The Jewish people - why did you tell us that we wear costumes?
'You said the costumes they wear in Stamford Hill – because I watched Question Time that day when you said about the costumes you wear.' 
The Labour MP looked up from her phone, glanced at the teenager for a moment and walked away to find another seat.
As she left Mr Rose said: 'Because it's not called a costume, love. It's called a religious piece of clothing.'
During her Question Time appearance Ms Abbott, 64, was answering an audience question about why her party has 'such a problem with antisemitism'.
She said: 'In my constituency, I have a community of charedi Jews that are actually subject to hate crime more than other Jews, because they wear that costume, they walk to synagogue.
Ms Abbott, who is MP Hackney North and Stoke Newington, walked away from Mr Rose
As she left the teenager said: 'Because it's not called a costume, love. It's called a religious piece of clothing'
The Labour MP did not respond to Mr Rose, from Cockfosters, north London when questioned
'But because I take it seriously I'm not going to make it some sort of party political gain.'
After the Tube incident Mr Rose told the Jewish Chronicle: 'I looked up from my seat and I saw it was Diane Abbott sitting in front of me on the Tube.
'Whilst I recognise that Diane was basically trying to speak out on Question Time about the problem of hate crime against Jews, I found her description of the charedi dress as being something akin to wearing a "costume" a bit troubling.
'I've heard a lot of talk amongst left-wing figures about the need for politicians to be more accountable to voters, and not just allowing themselves to be stuck in the Westminster bubble.
'But it was clear that Diane Abbott didn't want to speak to me – which is a shame.' 

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