Angela Smith MP has said she made an accidental “racist” comment because she was “very very tired”.
The former Labour MP faced widespread condemnation after comments she made about skin colour in a discussion on Politics Live.
She appeared to say: “It’s not just about being black or a funny tinge…” before breaking off and commenting “from the BAME community”.
The comment provoked outrage and the MP was forced to insist she wasn’t racist.
Asked again about her comments by Sky News Kay Burley, the MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge again denied she was racist.
She told Sky News: “I never meant to say that. I misspoke really badly, I was very, very tired at that point – I’d had six hours of press engagement and I was very tired.
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“I was very tired I misspoke really really badly and that’s not who I am. I’m very confident about that it’s not who I am and I think anybody who knows me would verify that.”
Ms Smith also told Sky how she had made a doorstep pact with a voter ahead of the 2017 election to do all she could to oust Mr Corbyn.
Nigel Farage also blamed fatigue for comments he made about Romanians in 2014.
Initially, he insisted that he stood by his words, saying that people had a “perfect right” to be concerned if a group of Romanians moved in next door.
But last night he said: “Do you know what, in life sometimes people get things wrong.”
He told BBC News: “I regret the fact that I was completely tired out and I didn’t use the form of words in response that I would have liked to have used.
“I should have just hit back immediately and said: ‘Look, understand there is a real problem here – you can’t deny it – too much criminality from these gangs has come to London.”‘
