How old is Diane Abbott and what did the Shadow Home Secretary say about Amber Rudd’s comment?
LABOUR Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott has criticised Amber Rudd for calling her a "coloured" woman.
Here's what you need to know about Britain's first black woman MP, a long-time ally and friend of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Who is Diane Abbott? What's her background?
Diane Abbott, now 64, was born to Jamaican immigrant parents in London in 1953.
She studied history at Cambridge University where she was taught by TV historian Simon Schama.
Diana was a trainee civil servant at the Home Office then worked as a race relations officer for the National Council for Civil Liberties.
She joined Thames Television as a researcher and reporter and was later a press officer at the Greater London Council and Lambeth Council.
By this time she was already a local councillor in Westminster and lost out to Ken Livingstone in a bid to be selected Labour parliamentary candidate in Brent East.
In 1987 she became the UK’s first black woman MP when she elected in Hackney North and Stoke Newington, the safe Labour seat she has represented ever since.
Abbott was a stern critic of Harriet Harman when she opted to send her children to a grammar school in 1997.
Six years later she was accused of hypocrisy when it emerged she had enrolled her own child at the £10,000-a-year City of London School.
Abbott became known for her TV appearances alongside Michael Portillo on the BBC's This Week. In 2004 she had to apologise for failing to declare earnings from the show of £17,300.
Many were surprised when she joined the 2010 Labour leadership race, but she insisted: “If not now, when? And if not me, who?” She came fifth as Ed Miliband was elected leader.
In 2014 Abbott came third in the contest to be Labour's candidate for London Mayor, which was won by Sadiq Khan.
In 2015 her old friend and left-wing ally Jeremy Corbyn became leader and she was picked for his frontbench team as Shadow International Development Secretary.
It emerged Mr Corbyn and Ms Abbott had a "brief fling" in the 1970s when they went on a motorcycle camping trip in Europe.
What is Diane Abbott's current role?
Ms Abbott was made Shadow Home Secretary in Mr Corbyn's frontbench reshuffle in October 2016.
She had a high-profile role in Labour's 2017 general election campaign, but was reportedly banned from going on air after a number of embarrassing gaffes.
She suggested it costs £300 a year to hire a policeman in an excruciating interview with LBC, and said on the Andrew Marr show changing her views on the IRA was like changing her hairstyle.
She was also left tongue-tied on her policy on protecting London from terrorists in a car-crash interview with Sky.
Two days before polling day she withdrew from the campaign due to illness, but later returned to her home office brief.
She later blamed her gaffes on type 2 diabetes and "out of control" blood sugars.
Last September she shocked viewers by using the N-word in a live interview on ITV's Good Morning Britain.
She was discussing the vile racist and sexist abuse she and other MPs have received on social media.
Abbott said: "And when I say abuse, it's not people saying you know 'I disagree with you about nationalising the railway', it's people calling you a n***** b****, it's people threatening acid attacks, it's rape, it's death threats.
"It's upsetting for me but it's also upsetting for my staff who have to see all this."
How did Diane Abbott react to being called a "coloured" woman by Amber Rudd?
Amber Rudd called Diane Abbott "coloured" during a radio interview about online abuse.
Speaking on BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine, The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions said: "It is worse if you're a woman and it's worst of all if you're a coloured woman.
"I know that Diane Abbott gets a huge amount of abuse and I think that's something that we need to continue to call out."
Rudd was forced to apologise for using the outdated term, tweeting: "Mortified at my clumsy language and sorry to @HackneyAbbott. My point stands: that no one should suffer abuse because of their race or gender."
Abbot hit back at the use of the word which is now considered offensive.
She wrote on Twitter: "The term 'coloured' is an outdated, offensive and revealing choice of words."
What has Diane Abbott said about Brexit?
Speaking on Question Time in November, she said: “I will say this about the second Referendum. You should be careful what you wish for.
“If we had a second referendum now the same people who voted leave last time, who are not largely speaking in London, would vote leave again saying: ‘Didn’t you
hear us the first time?’”
Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott will promise to axe the Government’s “tens and thousands” target and introduce a new work visa if Jeremy Corbyn wins the keys to No.10
This would allow unlimited numbers of overseas workers into Britain – from care workers to scientists – if there are skills shortages.
Migrants will also be offered “residency and accelerated citizenship” and the promise of an end to “exorbitant” fees for visa applications.
Ms Abbott insisted Labour would want businesses to advertise jobs locally first – and businesses to train up Brits.
But campaigners last night warned the proposals were a “kick in the teeth” for Labour’s traditional working class support.
Currently, the UK limits the number of skilled workers able to come to the UK from outside the EU at 20,700 a year.
Ministers lifted doctors and nurses out of the cap in June because of staffing shortages in the NHS.
Ms Abbott said: “We have economic needs that dictate we need migrants to help skills shortages and labour shortages.
“I am announcing that Labour in government will establish and completely reformed work visa policy.
“Under our new system anyone with specified bona fide skills can come here to work.”