BRITISH LABOUR MP Diane Abbott has apologised after she was spotted drinking a can of Marks & Spencer Mojito on a London train.
A photograph emerged online yesterday morning of the Shadow Home Secretary sipping the drink while on her phone on a London overground train.
Breakfast with Diane Abbott.#MarksAndSpencer pic.twitter.com/n63f62HZt1
— Harper 2012 ❄️ (@Harper__2012) April 20, 2019
“A photo of me drinking from a can of M&S Mojito on the Overground has been circulated,” Abbott wrote on Twitter last night.
“I’m sincerely sorry for drinking on TFL (Transport for London).”
A photo of me drinking from a can of M&S mojito on the Overground has been circulated. I'm sincerely sorry for drinking on TFL.
— Diane Abbott (@HackneyAbbott) April 19, 2019
Drinking alcohol on the TFL network has been illegal since 2008 when then-Mayor of London Boris Johnson introduced a ban.
Johnson was quoted at the time as saying: “I firmly believe that banning the drinking of alcohol on London’s public transport will create a better travelling environment for all Londoners.”
Following the photo of Abbott doing the rounds yesterday, many took to Twitter to defend the Shadow Home Secretary, an MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987.
Her Labour colleague, David Lammy MP, replied to Abbott’s apology with “Jah Rastafari!” and asked: “Why was the rum not Jamaican?”
Radio host Julia-Hartley Brewer critcised Abbott, however, tweeting: “Amazingly, this is not a spoof. Very ‘woman of the people’ choice of drink.”
A mojito is a Cuban drink traditionally made with white rum, sugar, lime juice, soda water, and mint. A mainstay of cocktail bars, it’s popularity has grown in recent years prompting drinks manufacturers to produce ready-made versions of the cocktail.
Meanwhile, Guardian columnist Dawn Foster defended the Hackney MP, tweeting: “#Journorequest If you are the “retired cop” who snitched on Diane Abbott, please get in touch so I can flush your head down the toilet for being a nerd.”
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