Abbott's son takes school row blame

Diane Abbot's son today leapt to his mother's defence, insisting that the Left-wing Labour MP was not a hypocrite for sending him to a £10,000-a year private school.

James Abbott, 12, claimed it had been his choice to attend the City of London School.

Ms Abbott, 50, was accused of double standards by the NASUWT teaching union for her decision after she criticised Tony Blair and Solicitor General Harriet Harman for sending their children to selective schools instead of comprehensives

But James said: "She's not a hypocrite - she just put what I wanted first instead of what people thought."

Ms Abbott has so far refused to comment on her decision to shun local schools in her Hackney constituency in favour of the all-boys school located by the Thames near St Paul's.

However, James added: "Mum didn't force me to go to private school. I took the tests of the schools I wanted to go to and I chose the school I wanted to go to. If I wanted to go to a state school, my mum would have let me go to a state school."

Asked during an LBC radio phone-in why he wanted to go to the City of London School, which he now attends, he replied: "The resources, the facilities and the teachers seem better than a state school. My mum said, 'You can go to whatever school you want'. She didn't say, 'You have to go to a private school'. It's not a flick of a coin for my mum to pay for private school."

Ms Abbott makes regular appearances on television and her son claimed much of the money she earns will now be used to pay his fees.

He said sending him to the City of London School "costs a fifth of her salary and most of the media work that she does is to support me going there".

James was born when Ms Abbott was married to architect David Thompson. Last night he declined to comment on his ex-wife's decision. Ms Abbott could not be contacted.

Ms Abbott has been Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington for 16 years and is a member of the Campaign Group of Labour MPs.

She condemned the Solicitor General when she chose St Olave's and St Saviour's ahead of a local school for her son's education and the Prime Minister when he opted to send his son Euan to the London Oratory.

Ms Abbott said of Ms Harman: "She made the Labour Party look as if we do one thing and say another."

Teaching unions have said the MP should be supporting Hackney's schools, which are beginning to improve their results after many years of propping-up London's league tables.

The turnaround comes after the Government stepped in to take over education in the borough through a not-for-profit body, the Learning Trust.