DIANE Abbott had trouble getting to grips with a megaphone when she addressed a group of Extinction Rebellion activists – but she got a rousing response with a round of ‘jazz hands’ applause.
The Shadow Home Secretary, 65, told eco-warriors they had done an “amazing job” since April 15 when they launched their demos that caused chaos across the capital.
AP:Associated Press
Abbott got a round of jazz hands for her effortThe MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington appeared to struggle using her megaphone as she addressed the group and repeatedly asked if people could hear her.
She was then instructed by one of the protesters to turn the mouthpiece around and speak directly into it.
She said: “The thing I wanted to say is I think you have done an amazing job drawing peoples attention to the climate emergency.
“I also want to say this, in all the noise and kerfuffle of Brexit the climate emergency is the most important issue facing us.”
She added: “I was very pleased to be in the group listening to our comrade Greta Thunberg with other MPs yesterday.
“She was amazing and I give her a lot of credit as a sixteen-year-old to go around the world and speak the truth to people twice and three times her age.
“A climate change movement that looks like Hackney, looks like inner city Manchester, looks like inner-city Birmingham, will be a climate change movement that is impossible to resist.”
The protesters are planning one last day of action tomorrow and organisers said they would then hold a “closing ceremony” in Hyde Park.
But Extinction Rebellion has promised more action “very soon,” saying, “the truth is out; the real work is about to begin.”
The Labour MP’s praise was warmly welcomed by the activists – or at least it appeared to be as opposed to the usual round of applause, Abbott was given “jazz hands”.
The British sign language way of indicating clapping – or jazz hands – is seen by some as “more inclusive form of expression” to help people suffering from anxiety or sensory issues.
The University of Manchester Students’ Union passed a resolution at a meeting on September 27 last year to encourage the use of jazz hands instead of traditional clapping, whooping, and cheering at some events so that clapping can be more inclusive.
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PA:Press Association
PA:Press Association
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