‘If you’re sorry, tell me you’re sorry’: Ngozi Fulani slams Buckingham Palace for ‘not apologising to her properly’ following race row with Lady Susan Hussey – and reveals she is temporarily stepping down as CEO of Sistah Space
Ngozi Fulani has temporarily stepped down as CEO of Sistah Space – and slammed Buckingham Palace for not apologising to her properly after Queen Elizabeth II’s most senior lady-in-waiting Lady Susan Hussey asked her ‘where are you really from?’
Speaking on International Women’s Day, Ms Fulani said the Sistah Space charity has suffered as a direct result of the race row.
She said following the incident, ‘violence’ has been directed towards her and claims the Palace hasn’t intervened.
‘So what I’ve had to do, I’ve now temporarily stepped down as CEO of Sistah Space,’ Ms Fulani announced on Good Morning Britain today.
‘The service users and the community can’t access us properly. This whole thing has cost us a fortune because we had to pay our own PR to stop the press from coming up, it was horrible.’
But she said she does not regret speaking out about what happened as she is ‘about discussing and making aware violence against women and girls, and I’ll go anywhere at any time to fight that cause.’
Ms Fulani also hit out at the Palace who she claims did not apologise directly to her, though an official statement of apology was issued publicly.
‘If you have to ask somebody for an apology, it is not an apology,’ she said.
‘I’m just making the point so that everybody understands what is so hard to say I’m sorry.
‘You sent me the invitation so you know how to find me. You know how to say sorry.
‘If you’re sorry then say sorry, if you’re not, I get it. But when you make this apology to everybody, I don’t know who you’re apologising to.’
MailOnline has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
Lady Susan Hussey (pictured) has returned to performing official duties for Princess Anne
Ngozi Fulani said she felt she suffered ‘a form of abuse’ during her encounter with Lady Susan, who repeatedly asked her where she was ‘really from’, despite her making clear she was British
Ms Fulani had accompanied a friend to a Buckingham Palace reception, hosted by the Queen Consort, to highlight violence against women and girls.
She said Lady Susan repeatedly asked her where she was ‘really from’, despite her making clear she was British, during the event.
The exchange was then revealed on social media and the former lady-in-waiting to the late Queen, who was retained by the King in an honorary role, resigned in November.
After Ms Fulani made a string of media appearances about the incident, she met Lady Susan again at Buckingham Palace.
That arranged encounter, a palace spokesman said, was filled with ‘warmth and understanding’, with Lady Susan offering ‘sincere apologies’ for her comments and ‘the distress they had caused’. Ms Fulani accepted this and that Lady Susan had intended ‘no malice’.
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