Diane Abbott 'should be shot' claimed Tory donor as he apologises for 'rude' remarks

In 2019, he said he did not hate all black women but is said to have claimed that seeing Abbott on TV made "you just want to hate all black women because she’s there".

The MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington is the longest-serving black MP in the UK.

Hester is also claimed to have called all of his "foreign" workers together as part of an attempt to defend himself against allegations of racism. According to the Guardian, the meeting saw him say he abhorred racism and tell his employees that their progress would never be "based on the colour of your skin, your ethnicity, where your parents are from".

But he thought to have added: "We take the p**s out of the fact that all our Chinese girls sit together in Asian corner".

Hester runs healthcare technology firm the Phoenix Partnership (TPP).

A statement from TPP in the wake of the remarks being published said the businessman "accepts that he was rude about Diane Abbott in a private meeting several years ago but his criticism had nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”.

TPP said Hester abhorred racism, “not least because he experienced it as the child of Irish immigrants in the 1970s”.

It added: "He rang Diane Abbott twice today to try to apologise directly for the hurt he has caused her, and is deeply sorry for his remarks. He wishes to make it clear that he regards racism as a poison which has no place in public life."

TPP’s lawyers previously said the company supports a diverse and inclusive workplace, with a significant proportion of its employees coming from minority ethnic backgrounds.

They also said that Hester’s comments had been distorted and taken out of context, and are therefore not an accurate characterisation of the company or Hester.

In a meeting in 2019, Hester had spoken about an executive from another organisation, saying: "She’s s***. She’s the s****est person. Honestly I try not to be sexist but when I meet somebody like [the executive], I just …

"It’s like trying not to be racist but you see Diane Abbott on the TV and you’re just like, I hate, you just want to hate all black women because she’s there, and I don’t hate all black women at all, but I think she should be shot.

"[The executive] and Diane Abbott need to be shot. She’s stupid … If we can get [the executive] being unprofessional we can get her sacked. It’s not as good as her dying. It would be much better if she died. She’s consuming resource. She’s eating food that other people could eat. You know?"

Reacting to the remarks, Labour Party Chair Anneliese Dodds demanded the Tory Party return the money handed to it by Hester.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

• POLL OF THE DAY: Do you think Lee Anderson was right to join Reform? - VOTE NOW
• ‘I’m NOT a mercenary!’ Lee Anderson blasts rumours he has been ‘paid by Reform’
• Starmer finally says 'common sense has to prevail' as he backs trans athletes ban

She said: "These comments are reprehensible. Frank Hester is the Conservative Party’s biggest ever donor, as well as a personal donor to the Prime Minister, it is therefore vital that Rishi Sunak and the Tories return his donations, in full without delay.

"Rishi Sunak has claimed that 'words matter', and he must know that holding on to that money would suggest the Conservatives condone these disturbing comments. Sunak must return every penny."

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: "Mr Hester has made clear that while he was rude, his criticism had nothing to do with her gender nor the colour of her skin. He has since apologised."

This afternoon, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch publicly described Hester's remarks as "racist". But just 15 minutes earlier, the Prime Minister's spokesperson had refused to do so, instead describing them as "unacceptable".