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Stacey Dooley has hit back after she was accused of encouraging a “white saviour” complex over her Comic Relief trip to Africa.

Labour MP David Lammy said Ms Dooley was perpetuating “tired and unhelpful stereotypes” after she travelled to Uganda for an upcoming documentary.

Mr Lammy said the issue was not “personal” with Ms Dooley and that he does not question her “good motives”. But he added: "The world does not need any more white saviours.”

Investigative reporter Ms Dooley hit back, saying in response to his tweet: “David, is the issue with me being white? (Genuine question).”

Responding on Thursday, a spokesman for Comic Relief made no apologies, thanking Dooley for helping people "working with or supported by Comic Relief projects tell their own stories in their own words".

She added: “Because if that’s the case, you could always go over there and try raise awareness?

“Comic relief have raised over 1 billion pounds since they started. I saw projects that were saving lives with the money. Kids lives.”

Stacey Dooley shared pictures of her trip to Uganda, with one snap showing her posing with a young child.

Another showed her during filming ahead of Red Nose Day.

Mr Lammy, MP for Tottenham, said she was reinforcing unhelpful stereotypes about Africa.

He said: "As I've said before, this just perpetuates tired and unhelpful stereotypes.

“Let's instead promote voices from across the continent of Africa and have serious debate."

Commenting on the row on BBC Two's Victoria Derbyshire on Thursday, he added: “The image that she wants to tweet conveys an age old trope that's her as the heroine, the black child as victim and we’ve got to stop it.

“The image is a perpetual image of people who are impoverished who need white celebrities who are largely uneducated about the context (in Africa).

“That image evokes for lots of ethnic minorities in Britain a white beautiful heroine holding a black child with no agency, no parents in sight, finger in the mouth. Its supine.”

He added: “We've got to change the formula of sending mostly white celebrities out to Africa.”

Mr Lammy had earlier said he had a problem with "British celebrities" being flown out to Africa by Comic Relief to make films which send "a distorted image" of the continent and perpetuate "an old idea from the colonial era".

He said "many black" Britons are "deeply uncomfortable" with Comic Relief's "poverty porn".

He told Ms Derbyshire that the charity's “formula” had to change.

“It's not that the charity isn’t good but it's that Comic Relief is doing nothing to educate its public,” he said.

“Comic Relief is responsible for young people in Britain black and white for their understanding of Africa.”

This is not the first time Comic Relief has been accused of perpetuating the so-called white saviour trope.

In March last year the charity said celebrities would take a backseat on on-location appeals following complaints about "poverty tourism".

A Comic Relief spokesman said: “We are really grateful that Stacey agreed to go to Uganda to discover more about projects British people have funded there and make no apologies for this.

“In her film, people working with or supported by Comic Relief projects tell their own stories in their own words.

“We have previously asked David Lammy if he would like to work with us to make a film in Africa and he has not responded. The offer is still open.”