The opposition Labor Party has slammed Frank Hester over his comments about Diane Abbott, which he described as “horrifying”.
The biggest donor to Britain's ruling Conservative Party said the country's longest-serving black lawmaker “makes me want to hate all black women” and that she “should be shot.” It has reportedly been criticized.
Frank Hester has donated £10 million ($12.8 million) to Chancellor Rishi Sunak's party in the past year, and after his comments were made public in 2019, the opposition Labor Party joined the Conservative Party. urged them to return their donations.
The Guardian reported that Hester was referring to Diane Abbott, who won her seat in 1987 and became the first black woman elected to the British Parliament.
“It's like trying not to be racist, but when you watch Diane Abbott on TV, you just say, “I hate you, I hate all black women because she's out there.'' It's just like, “I don't hate all black women, but I think she should be shot,'' he reportedly said.
“While he acknowledges that he made disrespectful comments to Diane Abbott in a private meeting several years ago, his criticism had nothing to do with her gender or the color of her skin,” Hester said in a statement. ” he said.
He said he hated racism and had tried to apologize to Mr Abbott.
“Mr Hester made it clear that although he was rude, his criticism had nothing to do with her gender or skin colour. He has since apologized,” a Conservative Party spokesperson said. .
“The comments about Diane Abbott are absolutely abhorrent,” Labor leader Keir Starmer told ITV on Tuesday. “This apology this morning pretends that what was said was racist and had nothing to do with the fact that she is a woman. Unfortunately I am not convinced. I think it's time to scream.'' And I returned the money. ”
Mr Abbott, 70, sits as an independent after being expelled from Labor's caucus for comments suggesting Jews and Irish people would not experience racism in their “lifetime”.
Abbott issued a statement Tuesday saying Hester's comments are concerning for a public figure who is a visible figure in the community because she doesn't own a car and usually walks or takes the bus. Stated.
“It's scary,” Abbott said. “I'm a single woman, so I'm in a vulnerable position anyway. But when I hear someone talking like this, it worries me.”
Mr Hester's comments could renew scrutiny of the Conservative Party and how it deals with allegations of racism.
Former party chairman Lee Anderson has been suspended after refusing to apologize for saying London's first Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan, was under the control of “Islamists”.
Conservative leaders said Mr Anderson's comments were wrong, but declined to say why or whether they were Islamophobic.
Graham Stewart, a cabinet minister in Sunak's government, was asked by reporters about Mr Hester's comments on Tuesday morning. He said they were unacceptable, but he refused to call them racist and told Times Radio he did not like to “sit in judgment”.
He said the party noted that the party said Hester's comments from “six months ago” were not racist, and that the party would “cancel” participants based on their previous comments. He told Sky News that he could not do so.
Labor Party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds said it was important the party returned donations.
“Rishi Sunak insists that ‘words matter’ and he must know that retaining that funding signals that the Conservative Party condones these disturbing comments. ,” she said in a statement. “Sunak has to pay back every penny.”
