RISHI Sunak has said he has no intention to hand back the £10 million donated by a major Tory backer accused of making racist comments.
The Prime Minister said Frank Hester rightly apologised for his comments and that “remorse should be accepted”.
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It comes amid a heated clash at Prime Minister’s Questions, where Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer challenged the PM, questioning if he took pride in being “bankrolled” by Mr Hester.
The millionaire Tory party donor is 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”.
Earlier this morning, Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake said returning the cash is not the “right thing to do” and suggested the Tories would accept further donations from the businessman.
Using his weekly grilling in the Commons, the Opposition chief tried to corner the PM, firing of questions about the Tory cash controversy.
Sir Keir said: “Is the Prime Minister proud to be bankrolled by someone using racist and misogynistic language when he says the Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Diane Abbott) ‘makes you want to hate all black women?’”
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.”
After pressing him on whether he will return the £10 million, the PM reiterated “remorse should be accepted” before attacking Labour’s record.
He said: “He talks about language, he might want to reflect on the double standards of his deputy leader calling her opponents scum, his shadow foreign secretary comparing Conservatives to Nazis and the man that he wanted to make chancellor talking about lynching a female minister.
“His silence on that speaks volumes.”
He also later insisted he was “absolutely not going to take any lectures” from Sir Keir who he said “chose to serve a leader who let antisemitism run rife in his Labour Party, those are his actions, those are his values and that’s how he should be judged”.
Sir Keir fired back: “The problem is that he’s describing a Labour Party that no longer exists.”
Ms Abbott was present in the chamber during the exchange.
Mr Sunak has been facing calls to return the money donated by Mr Hester from the Lib Dems and Labour since the report first emerged.
Mr Hester has admitted making “rude” comments about Ms Abbott, but claimed they had “nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”.
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.