Jeremy Corbyn blames ‘Tory-backed media’ for fuelling online abuse
2 min read
Jeremy Corbyn has blasted “the Tories and their loyal media” for fuelling online abuse during the general election, in a speech at Labour’s annual conference today.
The Labour leader accused media outlets of waging a “nasty and personal" campaign against the party.
He also called for an end to the “intolerable misogynistic and racist abuse,” aimed at Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, by a “hostile press" and "media trolls”.
Mr Corbyn told delegates in Brighton: “The campaign by the Tories and their loyal media was nasty and personal. It fuelled abuse online and no one was the target of that more than Diane Abbott.
"Diane has a decades-long record of campaigning for social justice and has suffered intolerable misogynistic and racist abuse. Faced with such an overwhelmingly hostile press and an army of social and media trolls, it’s even more important that we stand together."
He went on to attack the newspapers, saying they had run “the campaign they always do under orders from their tax exile owners to trash Labour at every turn.
“The day before the election one paper devoted fourteen pages to attacking the Labour Party. And our vote went up nearly 10%.Never have so many trees died in vain. The British people saw right through it. So this is a message to the Daily Mail’s editor - next time, please make it 28 pages.”
This comes just a day after Ms Abbott called on Corbyn supporters to end online abuse against the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.
The broadcaster's political editor was assigned a security guard for the party's conference after receiving abuse from people who believe she has been unfair in her coverage of the Labour leader.
Asked whether the abuse should end, Ms Abbott said: “Oh definitely. Don’t do it. Just don’t do it. There is a positive case to make on Jeremy online, make that positive case. You don’t have to be abusing other people.”
Her comments were echoed by former Labour frontbencher Clive Lewis, who worked as a BBC political reporter before entering Parliament.
Mr Lewis told delegates in Brighton: “I think it’s a disgrace that any woman needs to have bodyguards at conference - absolute disgrace.”
The Norwich South MP added: “Play the ball not the player. Argue with what she has to say – don’t threaten her. We are not like that. That’s not how we roll on the left.
“Whatever you think of her journalism – threaten that, don’t threaten her.”
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