PM says donor is ‘genuinely contrite’ as phone-in caller challenges him over businessman’s remarks about Diane Abbott
A caller during an LBC phone-in asked the prime minister about Frank Hester’s remarks about the Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP.Hester, who has given more than £15m to the Tories directly or through his company, is also alleged to have referred to a staff member as the “token Muslim”, imitated people of Chinese descent and remarked that one individual was attractive for a black woman, according to former employees who spoke to the Guardian.
Sunak appeared to insinuate that there was an equivalence between Hester and some remarks Abbott has made, as he said Abbott herself had made “some comments in the past that were not appropriate but she apologised for those and was deadlifted back into the Labour party”. The accusations against Hester had piled pressure on Sunak after it was confirmed that the donor had given a further £5m to the Tories through his healthcare tech company, the Phoenix Partnership . It brings the total donated by Hester to more than £15m in a year.
After the Guardian reported details of claims by former employees about his workplace behaviour, Sunak was asked by a reporter while on a campaign visit in Wiltshire earlier this month if Hester should apologise for the latest alleged remarks. He declined to comment.Make sense of the UK election campaign with Archie Bland's daily briefing, direct to your inbox at 5pm .
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