The opposition Labor Party criticizes Frank Hester over comments about Diane Abbott, calling the comments “appalling”.
The biggest donor to Britain's ruling Conservative Party has come under fire after allegedly saying that looking at the country's longest-serving black lawmaker made him “want to hate all black women” and that “she should be shot.”
Frank Hester donated 10 million pounds ($12.8 million) to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's party last year, and the publication of his 2019 comments led the opposition Labor Party to urge the Conservatives to return the donation.
The Guardian newspaper quoted Hester as referring to Diane Abbott, who became the first black woman elected to the UK Parliament when she won a seat in 1987.
“It's like trying not to be racist, but you see Diane Abbott on TV and you're 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 “They should shoot her,” he said.
Hester said in a statement that she “accepts that he was rude to Diane Abbott in a private meeting several years ago, but his criticism had nothing to do with her gender or skin color.”
He said he abhors racism and had tried to apologize to Abbott.
“Mr Hester has made it clear that, while he was rude, his criticism had nothing to do with her gender or the color of her skin. He has since apologized,” a Conservative Party spokesperson said.
“The comments about Diane Abbott are simply abhorrent,” Labor leader Keir Starmer told ITV on Tuesday. “This apology this morning pretending that what was said was not racist or had anything to do with the fact that she is a woman, I don't believe it, I'm afraid, and I think it's time for the Conservative Party to do it. report and I returned the money.”
Abbott, 70, is serving as an independent after being expelled from the Labor Party caucus over comments suggesting Jews and Irish people do not experience racism “all their lives”.
Abbott issued a statement Tuesday saying Hester's comments were alarming for a public figure who is a visible presence in the community because he does not have a car and walks or takes the bus regularly.
“It's terrifying,” Abbott said. “I am a single woman and that makes me vulnerable anyway. But hearing someone talk like that is worrying.”
Hester's comments are likely to reignite scrutiny on the Conservative Party and how it handles accusations of racism.
Former party president Lee Anderson was suspended after refusing to apologize for saying London's first Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan, was under the control of “Islamists”.
Senior conservative lawmakers said Anderson's comments were wrong, but declined to say why or whether they were Islamophobic.
Journalists asked Graham Stuart, a minister in Sunak's government, about Hester's comments on Tuesday morning. He said they were unacceptable, but he refused to brand them racist and told Times Radio that he did not like to “sit in judgment”.
He said the party noted that Hester had said comments made “half a decade ago” were not racist, and told Sky News the party could not “cancel” people based on previous comments.
Anneliese Dodds, chair of the Labor Party, said it was vital the party returned the donation.
“Rishi Sunak has claimed that 'words matter' and he should know that keeping that money would suggest the Tories tolerate these disturbing comments,” he said in a statement. “Sunak must pay back every penny.”
