It is beyond belief just what Diane Abbott was thinking when she wrote her piece about racism. It upset, amongst others, the Jewish community. This is a woman who has had racist attacks throughout her political life. As the MP for Hackney she lives amongst a large Jewish community. This makes her remarks even more bizarre.

That people of colour have experienced racism in our country is beyond dispute. Sadly it continues today in many forms. The Duchess of Sussex felt that members of the Royal Family had exhibited unconscious bias when seeking to know what colour skin her newborn baby might exhibit.

The Jewish nation has experienced extreme racism on a massive scale. Concentration camps and millions of deaths bear witness to the horrors of the Second World War anti-Jewish campaign by Hitler. Many years previously in our own country King John expelled the Jews. He did this to help restore financial stability as the Jews had a large measure of control of money. It is highly unlikely that anti-semitic views will vanish any time soon in our society.

Prejudice exists in many forms today. People of colour and those from an ethnic minority are not alone in suffering from discrimination and taunts about their condition. However nothing compares with the traumatic horrors faced by the Jewish nation.

However prejudice can be exhibited in subtle ways. Marking student work I was confronted by two Nigerian students to inform me that I had a racism problem because I had marked two Kenyan students higher than them. My reply is not for publication.

Being a cockney especially if you work in academia means you have to accept continual disparaging comments. As a group we are frequently viewed as ‘thick’ and ‘wide boys’ and above all we do not speak ‘proper;. My headmaster told me on the last day of term that I would not make anything of myself because I had a cockney accent. Throughout my life many have attempted to mimic my accent in a humorous sort of way. Most attempts have been of the Dick Van Dyke standard. I confess this has led to a chip probably on both shoulders. I have refused to take elocution lessons and having lived in Devon most of my adult life I now have a cockney Janner twang.

Whilst being patronised and viewed as a thick cockney motivated me to achieve prejudice and ridicule for whom you are or where you were born can have serious consequences for many people. Youngsters via social media are at particular risk when faced with such personal attacks.

I have often thought how wonderful it would be if the whole world population could be coffee coloured. When I was working in Papua New Guinea the South Pacific Island Games were being held. The PNG ladies relay team had two ladies of Indian extraction plus one light brown skinned athlete and a third who was black with natural blond hair. They made a delightful and skilled team. It makes the point that it is not just a question of black and white. The world is made up of all shades of skin colour from the pale Scandinavian people to the darkest African. Whilst in Garoka in the PNG highlands I was served by a lady receptionist. She had very black skin with bright eyes and a smile to die for. She was very beautiful. The world is obsessed by difference. It is that difference that makes life interesting.

As a teacher in the 1960s I was guilty of misusing a boy’s name for humorous effect. I was unaware just how much he disliked it until he told me on leaving day. I was mortified and all these years on I still feel guilty. Not something I would have liked.

It’s not just about black and white; it is much more serious than that.