Online trolls force the woman at the centre of the Buckingham Palace race row to temporarily shut down her domestic abuse charity Sistah Space
- Ngozi Fulani was recently in the middle of the race row at Buckingham Palace
- Said she was repeatedly asked where she came from by Lady Susan Hussey
- Police investigating ‘malicious’ messages to Ms Fulani who runs Sistah Space
- Lady Hussey, 83, resigned from her Palace role of six decades over the claims
A domestic abuse charity led by a black campaigner who was at the centre of a race row at Buckingham Palace has been forced to shut down temporarily after receiving threats online.
Police were last night investigating ‘malicious’ messages sent to Ngozi Fulani who runs Sistah Space. The charity, which helps Afro-Caribbean women who have faced domestic abuse, said it is having to cease its work after receiving horrendous abuse and threats online.
It comes after Londoner Ms Fulani claimed that she was repeatedly asked where she came from by the late Queen’s Lady-in-Waiting at a reception at the Palace.
Lady Susan Hussey, 83, resigned from her Palace role of six decades over claims that she touched Ms Fulani’s hair and repeatedly asked her where she came from.
A domestic abuse charity led by a black campaigner, Ngozi Fulani (pictured), who was at the centre of a race row at Buckingham Palace has been forced to shut down temporarily after receiving threats online
This was despite Ms Ngozi saying she was from Hackney, North-East London, and was British.
Only when the black activist said she was of Caribbean descent and African origin did Lady Hussey stop, saying: ‘I knew we’d get there in the end.’ Ms Fulani, 57, later posted a transcript of the exchange on social media, which led to a furious outcry, leading Lady Susan to quit her post.
Now, in a further twist, Sistah Space this weekend announced it was shutting down its operations in Hackney.
A statement from the charity said: ‘Unfortunately recent events meant that we were forced to temporarily cease many of our operations to ensure the safety of our service users and our team.
Sources told the Mail that ‘absolutely no malice’ was meant in Lady Susan’s comments
‘We are overwhelmed by the amount of support and encouragement and look forward to fully reinstating our services as soon as safely possible.’
A spokesman for the charity said that Sistah Space will stop its activities and wait till the furore ‘calms down’ before re-opening.
On Saturday night, Scotland Yard said that it is investigating online threats made against a worker at the charity – understood to be Ms Fulani, who was previously known as Marlene Headley.
The Met said in a statement: ‘Police are investigating an allegation of malicious communication following comments on social media targeted at a woman aged in her 50s.
‘Officers were made aware of the comments on Sunday, December 4, and enquiries are ongoing. There have been no arrests.’
Ms Fulani has made several television and radio appearances since the controversy broke a fortnight ago.
She told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: ‘I’ve heard so many suggestions it’s about [Lady Susan’s] age and stuff like that and I think that’s a kind of a disrespect about ageism. Are we saying that because of your age you can’t be racist or you can’t be inappropriate?’
Lady Susan was said to be ‘devastated’ by the incident and did not intend to offend Ms Fulani. Journalist Petronella Wyatt, who knows Lady Susan, told GB News: ‘She is broken-hearted. She won’t go out.’