Diane Abbott says Conservative Party donor’s comments are horrifying

Diane Abbott said comments made by a leading Tory donor who was allegedly made to “hate all black women” by MPs and said she needed to be “shot” were “horrifying”. “It was a thing,” he said.

Britain’s longest-serving black MP said: “The fact that two MPs have been murdered in recent years makes these topics even more worrying.”

Mr. Hester apologized for his “disrespectful” comments about Mr. Abbott.

However, he said his remarks had “nothing to do with her gender or skin color.”

A Downing Street spokeswoman said Mr Hester’s comments were “unacceptable” but did not say why.

Labor Party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds criticized the alleged comments as “clearly and unequivocally racist and sexist”.

In a statement on Tuesday, Ms Abbott said that as a “single woman” she was already “vulnerable” when walking and riding buses in her Hackney constituency.

“Throughout my career as an MP, I have believed in the importance of mixing and interacting with ordinary people, rather than living in a bubble,” she added.

“Stories like this become even more alarming given the fact that two members of Congress have been murdered in recent years.”

Mr Abbott, who has been suspended as a Labor MP, said in response to Mr Hester’s comments: “I look forward to public support from Keir Starmer.”

Labor last year removed the whip from Mr Abbott after he said Irish people, Jews and Travelers were not subject to racism “for life”. She retracted her statement and apologized “for any distress caused.”

Labor leader Lord Keir told ITV’s Lorraine that Mr Hester’s alleged comments were “abhorrent”.

“And Diane is a trailblazer and has paved the way for other politicians. She has probably faced more abuse than any other politician, probably continuously over the years.”

Mr Hester, who donated £10 million to the Conservative Party last year, is said to have made the comments about Mr Abbott while criticizing a female executive at another organization during a meeting at its headquarters.

As reported by the Guardian, he continued: “I’m trying not to be racist, but when you see Diane Abbott on TV, you hate her as much as I do. “I just want to hate all black women because there are, and me too,” she said. She doesn’t hate all black women at all, but she thinks she should be shot.

”[The executive] And Diane Abbott needs to be shot. ”

The BBC has not heard the recording and has not been able to independently verify the alleged statements.

A spokeswoman for Mr Hester said his statements did not support the Guardian’s alleged quote.

At the time, Mr Abbott was shadow home secretary under former leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride defended Mr Hester’s alleged comments, saying they were “inappropriate” but not “racially based”.

But former Conservative Prime Minister Kwasi Kwarteng said the alleged remarks were “obviously” racist and sexist, adding: “Calls to violence, even in a flippant way, are truly inappropriate. I think Diane was right to point out that it was appropriate.”

He said he had not heard “independent corroboration” and did not know the context in which the comments were expressed, but said what was reported was “racist, sexist and completely unacceptable.” .

The attention on Mr Hester is uncomfortable for Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Mr Hester, a former Green Party voter, is a generous donor to the Conservative Party, but appears to be more passionate about the current leader than the party as a whole.

“Rishi is not Boris,” he told the Daily Telegraph last month, praising the current prime minister’s knowledge of AI.

Asked by the newspaper if there was a chance he would make a third £5m gift, he said: “If it meant helping Rishi, I would say ‘never.’ .I really think he’s the right guy.”

The controversy will once again raise questions about whether sufficient due diligence is being done on major donors. It also highlights the toxicity of modern politics, with Mr Abbott expressing alarm and some Conservative Party leaders calling for less polarizing language.

The Tory campaign headquarters are understandably reluctant to hand over £10 million in an election year, and it is understandable that the Opposition would want the cash returned.

But even more worrying for Mr Sunak, or at least his campaign coffers, is that some of his MPs secretly believe it is the best way to recover from recent disputes. Thing.