Labour's Diane Abbott claims her views on the IRA have changed, just like her 'splendid afro'

Diane Abbott has insisted her previous views on the IRA have changed, just like her afro.

The Shadow Home Secretary made the surprising comment as she was grilled on her alleged comment in 1984 that "every defeat of the British state is a victory for all of us."

BBC presenter Andrew Marr asked her about the claim, which the Sunday Times said was made in an interview with pro-republican journal Labour and Ireland.

Ms Abbott replied: "It was 34 years ago, I had a rather splendid afro at the time, I don’t have the same hairstyle and I don’t have the same views.

"It is 34 years on. The hairstyle has gone, and some of the views have gone."

She dismissed the quote as coming "from a now defunct left newspaper", but did not deny saying it and would not say she regretted it.

Tory Home Secretary Amber Rudd snapped back: "I’ve changed my hairstyle a few times in 34 years as well but I’ve not changed my view about how we keep the British people safe."

Grilled minutes later in a separate interview on ITV, Jeremy Corbyn appeared to be caught unawares.

"Diane's hairstyle is a matter for Diane," the Labour leader said, adding: "We learnt all of us a lot from the whole experience of Northern Ireland."

Mr Corbyn denied speaking to the IRA - but said he had met former prisoners “with my eyes open on it”.

"I have met former prisoners who have told me they were not in the IRA," he told ITV.

"But I have met former prisoners with my eyes open on it on the basis there had to be a development of a peace process in Northern Ireland, and I think we should look at the awful period of the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the attempt to get a military solution to those problems as something we all learn a lesson from."

Ms Abbott's apparent comments from 1984 were revealed in the Sunday Times last week.

She was quoted as saying Ireland "is our struggle - every defeat of the British state is a victory for all of us. A defeat in Northern Ireland would be a defeat indeed."

During her interview Ms Abbott defended voting against orders to proscribe alleged terror organisations, saying: "The reality of some of those groups is they were dissidents in their country of origin."

She said she, like some Tory MPs, was simply holding the government to account.

She also confirmed Labour's pledge today to hire 1,000 more intelligence and security officers was merely a pledge to fulfil what has already been announced.

But she denied reports she wants to wipe clean police DNA records, saying she would only do so for children who committed no crime.

She said "of course" she would no longer call for the abolition of MI5, because the nature of the organisation has changed since the 1980s.

And she insisted she could be trusted with tracking terror suspects if Labour wins the general election on June 8.

She said: "I was a Home Office civil servant. I know how these things work.

"If the files are put in front of me, evidence is put in front of me, of course I'll sign orders for surveillance."

The interview came as Manchester prepares to close the first week since the terror bombing by Salman Abedi that killed 22 concert-goers at an Ariana Grande gig.

Labour restated its commitment to hire 10,000 more police officers, 3,000 more firefighters, 3,000 more prison officers and 500 more border guards.

Jeremy Corbyn said: "Ensuring the safety of our communities demands properly resourced action across many fronts.

"It means upholding and enforcing our individual rights, promoting community relations, supporting our emergency services, tackling and preventing crime and protecting us from danger, including threats of terror and violence."

Meanwhile the Tories announced a new Commission for Countering Extremism would have a remit to clamp down on "unacceptable cultural norms" such as female genital mutilation, and promote "British values".

It will also act to ensure that women's rights are upheld in all of Britain's ethnic and religious communities, Theresa May said.

Mrs May wrote in the Sun on Sunday: "Enough is enough. We need to be stronger and more resolute in standing up to those who hate our values and want to destroy the freedoms we hold dear".