Police force apologises for tweet mocking Labour frontbencher Diane Abbott

Thames Valley Police shared post suggesting shadow home secretary did not know where she lives

A police force has apologised after one of its official Twitter accounts shared a joke mocking Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary.

Thames Valley Police retweeted the post, which joked that the Labour MP had been "caught up in a stop and search drama" looking for her house keys, and had then forgotten where she lives.

It was shared by the Thames Valley Roads Policing account and later deleted.

The original tweet was by Norman Brennan, a former police officer who retired in 2009. He has been critical of Labour's policies on policing, including calls for greater restrictions on stop and search.

Thames Valley Police said it had contacted Ms Abbott to "apologise unreservedly".

Detective chief superintendent Gilbert Houalla, the force's gold commander, said: “We are aware of the tweet that was retweeted and subsequently deleted from our roads policing Twitter account.

“We do not endorse the tweet in any way, and will continue to ensure that our officers and staff know what is and is not appropriate to post via our official channels.

“We have contacted Diane Abbott’s office and have unreservedly apologised for any offence this may have caused.”

In response, Ms Abbott told the BBC: "We welcome the apology.

"Evidence-based stop and search can be a useful tool in fighting crime, but the police's own data shows that random stops disproportionately affect black and Asian people."