The shadow Home Secretary for the Labour Party spoke at an anti-Boris Johnson protest outside Downing Street while supporters in the crowd waved the flags. Owen Jones also gave a speech to the crowd waving the same controversial flags in pictures obtained by Express.co.uk. While the two left-wing supporters do not associate themselves with the hammer and sickle symbol, they did not appear to condemn the flags.

The flag has been used by certain Communist leaders such as Mao Zedong and Joseph Stalin and is associated with the deaths of millions.

The pictures come as Ms Abbott once suggested Chairman Mao did more "good than harm" during a debate in 2008.

On BBC One’s This Week, Andrew Neil questioned why it was ok for someone to wear a t-shirt with a picture of Mao but not one of Hitler.

Ms Abbott said: “I suppose some people will judge that on balance Mao did more good than harm. You can't say that about the Nazis.”

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