Diane Abbott – live: Tory war over £10m deepens as minister insists donor Frank Hester not racist
The Tory party’s crisis over donor Frank Hester’s comments about Diane Abbott deepened on Wednesday as a minister defended his financial contributions and said he was not racist.
Kevin Hollinrake, parliamentary under secretary for the Department of Business and Trade, said it would “not be the right thing to do” to return Mr Hester’s £10million donation to his party.
He added that Mr Hester’s comments were “clearly racist” but he did not believe the donor still held those views. Asked if the Tory party would take £10m from Mr Hester again, he said they would “on the basis that we don’t believe he’s a racist, yes”.
Mr Hester, who donated £10million to the Conservatives last year, is reported to have said Ms Abbott made him “want to hate all black women” and that she “should be shot”.
It comes as Rishi Sunak held a meeting with the chairman of the 1922 committee, Sir Graham Brady, on Monday night amid growing concerns about the “direction” of the party, Sky News reported.
