New 'Independent Group' walks into a race row just TWO HOURS after forming: Veteran MP Angela Smith calls BAME people 'a funny tinge' in cringeworthy BBC interview

  • Angela Smith issued a grovelling apology within hours of quitting Labour Party 
  • Penistone MP insisted she 'misspoke' during a live interview on BBC Politics Live 
  • Discussing racism she said 'It's not just about being black or a funny tinge'
  • Labour MP Rupa Huq told HuffPo: 'They claim their new Party is anti racist and modern yet in the same breath describe Black, Asian and minority ethnic people as having ''a funny tinge''.
    'This is, at best, the casual racism of the 70s that I thought we'd long left behind. But it will strike many as an appalling, racist comment.
    'Is the Independent Group going to investigate?' 
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    At the launch event earlier (pictured), Ms Smith said Labour had abandoned the people it was set up to help in pursuit of ideological purity
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    At the launch event earlier (pictured), Ms Smith said Labour had abandoned the people it was set up to help in pursuit of ideological purity
    Activist and commentator Owen Jones said: 'Wow. Just wow. Listen to how Angela Smith, one of the founders of the new party, describes BME people.' 
    Journalist Michael Segalov tweeted: 'Did Angela Smith on live BBC TV just now *actually*, when talking about BME people, say ''it's not just about being black or a funny tinge''.' 
    At the launch event earlier, Ms Smith said Labour had abandoned the people it was set up to help in pursuit of ideological purity.
    She said: 'Most people are like my family. They do not want to be patronised by left-wing intellectuals who think that being poor and working-class is a state of grace.'