Scottish Tories heap pressure on Sunak in Tory donor row

Prime Minister resists calls to return £10 million to businessman accused of racism towards Diane Abbott

The Scottish Conservatives have piled pressure on Rishi Sunak by calling for a “review” of £10 million in donations handed to the party by a businessman involved in a racism row.

The Prime Minister resisted calls to hand back the money to Frank Hester, the Conservative backer alleged to have said Diane Abbott, Britain's longest-serving black MP, made him "want to hate all black women" and that she "should be shot".

Mr Sunak said Mr Hester’s “remorse should be accepted” when he was challenged by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to return the donor’s cash.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaking during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons. Photo: UK Parliament/Maria Unger/PA Wire

But in a sign of Tory divisions over the issue, the Scottish Conservatives criticised taking donations from Mr Hester.

A spokesman for the Scottish Tories said: "These comments were racist and wrong.

"The Scottish Conservative Party has never accepted a donation from Frank Hester and the UK Conservative Party should carefully review the donations it has received from Hester in response to his remarks."

Labour Party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds said: "The Scottish Tories are saying what we all know: accepting tens of millions of pounds from Frank Hester is wrong on every level.

"Rishi Sunak needs to extract himself from this quagmire and show that he is willing to stand up to racism within his party.

"He must pay back the money in full, cut ties with Mr Hester and apologise unequivocally to Diane Abbott."

At Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Sir Keir asked Mr Sunak whether he was "proud to be bankrolled by someone using racist and misogynistic language".

Mr Sunak replied: "The alleged comments were wrong, they were racist, he has rightly apologised for them and that remorse should be accepted.

"There is no place for racism in Britain, and the Government I lead is living proof of that."

Sir Keir continued: "How low would he have to sink, what racist, woman-hating threat of violence would he have to make before the Prime Minister plucked up the courage to hand back the £10 million that he's taken from him?"

Mr Sunak reiterated that "the gentleman apologised genuinely for his comments and that remorse should be accepted".

Ms Abbott could be seen shaking her head at the Prime Minister's answers, while other Labour MPs cried: "Shame!"

The former Labour MP, who now sits as an independent, criticised the Commons Speaker after she was not called at Prime Minister's Questions, which Sir Lindsay Hoyle's spokeswoman said was because there was "not enough time" to call all MPs.

Ms Abbott, writing on X, said: "I don't know whose interests the Speaker thinks he is serving. But it is not the interests of the Commons or democracy."

The spokeswoman for the Speaker's Office 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 timeframe, 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."

Get the inside track on what’s happening in the world of Scottish politics with our daily newsletter

Asked whether the Prime Minister would like to apologise to Ms Abbott for the Tory donor's comments, Mr Sunak's spokesman said: "The PM is acutely aware of the unacceptable abuse that Diane Abbott has suffered over the course of her career and as the first black woman elected to Parliament."

But he declined to issue an apology, saying: "The remarks were obviously made by an individual who has apologised for his comments and the PM has been clear the comments were unacceptable and racist."

Ministers and Downing Street refused to describe Mr Hester's comments as racist for most of Tuesday, but the Prime Minister's spokesman finally labelled them as such in the evening.

It came after Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch broke ranks to call them racist late on Tuesday afternoon.

Asked why it took so long, Mr Sunak's spokesman said that "it was right to give someone a proper right of reply" after "very serious allegations" were made.

He stressed that Mr Hester's comments remained "unverified", despite the fact the Tory donor has not denied making them, and declined to say whether the businessman has been contacted to confirm whether he said those words.

Mr Sunak's press secretary suggested Mr Hester was not a racist, pointing reporters "to his own words where he talks about racism is a poison, there's no place for it in public life".

Earlier, Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake said that returning Mr Hester's cash was not the "right thing to do" and suggested the Tories would accept further donations from the businessman.

No 10 would not "get into speculation about future events" when asked whether more money might be taken from Mr Hester, or whether Mr Sunak would accept more funding for helicopter rides after Mr Hester paid nearly £16,000 for a trip by the Prime Minister in December.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said Mr Hester should not be "cancelled" for "despicable" remarks "made in the past" and for which he has apologised.

Ms Abbott herself said the reported comments were "frightening" and "alarming" given that two MPs - Jo Cox and Sir David Amess - have been murdered in recent years.

Police are understood to have been contacted about the remarks, with Scotland Yard saying officers from its Parliamentary Liaison and Investigation Team are in touch with an MP about a report in the Guardian, which broke the story.

Labour's shadow foreign secretary David Lammy tweeted: "The last 48 hours have been a grim spectacle in the fight against racism.

"It's so tiring for Britain's black community to watch politicians tie themselves in knots in the face of shocking and obvious racism. We are better than this. Rishi should return the money."