Andrew presses @HackneyAbbott on whether she regrets supporting the IRA #marr
Diane Abbott says she has "moved on" from her comments appearing to support the IRA at the height of its bombing campaign in the 1980s.
The shadow home secretary told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show that her views, like her hairstyle, had changed in the last 34 years.
Abbott was quoted as saying: "Ireland is our struggle. Every defeat of the British state is a victory for all of us. A defeat in Northern Ireland would be a defeat indeed."
Asked whether she regretted those comments, Abbott said: “It was 34 years ago, I had a rather splendid afro at the time, I don’t have the same hairstyle, and I don’t have the same views. It is 34 years on. The hairstyle has gone, and some of the views have gone.”
Pressed by host Marr whether she had not only moved on from the views, but also regretted them, she replied: "The hairstyle have gone, the views have gone. We've all moved on in 34 years – haven't you, Andrew?"
Appearing on the same programme, home secretary Amber Rudd said: “What I would say to Diane Abbott is, I’ve changed my hairstyle a few times in 34 years as well, but I’ve not changed my view about how we keep the British public safe.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, appearing on ITV's Peston on Sunday show later in the morning, commented: “Diane’s hairstyle is a matter for Diane."