Labour frontbencher ridiculed for copying Barack Obama's acceptance speech

Footage of Kate Osamor's 2017 speech contains strikingly similar extracts, where she replaced 'America' with 'Edmonton'

A Labour frontbencher has faced ridicule after it emerged that she delivered a strikingly similar speech to Barack Obama when she was re-elected last year.

Kate Osamor, the shadow international development secretary, appeared to plagiarise large chunks from the former US president's historic victory address in 2008 when she won her seat in Edmonton with an increased majority of more than 21,000.

Footage obtained by PoliticsHome shows Ms Osamor addressing activists in the North London constituency, where she supplemented the words "Labour" and "Edmonton" for "America" in almost identical comments.

However Ms Osamor denied plagiarising Mr Obama, saying she felt his speech was well known enough for the audience to recognise it.

Addressing the crowd, Ms Osamor said: "If there is anyone out there who doubts that Edmonton is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of hope is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

"It's the answer told by the lines of people stretched around polling stations, schools and churches.

"By young people who queued, many for the first time in their lives because they believed that voting for Labour this time must be different, that their voices could be the difference."

The extract is almost identical to Mr Obama's victory speech in his hometown of Chicago a decade ago.

The former president told cheering crowds: "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

"It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference."

Ms Osamor's spokesman said: "Kate deliberately invoked a victory speech so famous that she thought it needed no introduction."

It comes after the shadow cabinet member had to row back an outspoken interview where she unexpectedly backed intervention in Syria and called for Bashar al-Assad to be removed.