Rishi Sunak appears to have ruled out returning money to a Tory donor who allegedly said Diane Abbott made him “want to hate all black women” and “should be shot”.
Asked at Prime Minister’s Questions by Labour MP Marsha De Cordova if he would hand back one of the specific donations from Frank Hester’s company – £15,900 covering a helicopter trip – Mr Sunak said “no”.
The prime minister added that he was “pleased” the businessman was supporting “one of the most diverse governments in this country’s history”.
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There were terse exchanges in the Commons as Mr Sunak faced increasing pressure to return the funds to Mr Hester and his healthcare software firm The Phoenix Partnership, who between them have donated £10m to the Conservatives since the 2019 election.
And minutes after the main event in parliament, a spokesperson from the Scottish Conservatives joined in, calling on the UK party to “carefully review the donations” in light of Mr Hester’s alleged comments, which were “racist and wrong”.
After his remarks were first reported in the Guardian, the businessman said he was “deeply sorry”, but insisted they had “nothing to do with [Ms Abbott’s] gender nor colour of skin”.
Ms Abbott – who yesterday described the remarks as “frightening” and “alarming” – was in the chamber throughout PMQs.
But despite standing several times seeking to ask a question, she was not selected by Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
A spokesperson for Sir Lindsay said: “During Prime Minister’s Questions, the Speaker must select MPs from either side of the House on an alternating basis for fairness.
“This takes place within a limited time frame, with the chair prioritising members who are already listed on the order paper. This week – as is often the case – there was not enough time to call all Members who wanted to ask a question.”
