Environment Secretary says free football tickets were not from water company
Steve Reed said free football tickets worth nearly £1,800 that he declared were from a telecoms company, not a water firm. Source link
All posts tagged: Frank Hester
The Tories Have Accepted Another £5 Million From Donor Who Said Diane Abbott ‘Should Be Shot’
The Tories have accepted another £5 million from a businessman who said Diane Abbott made him “want to hate all black women” and “should be shot”, it has been confirmed. Figures released this morning by the Electoral Commission showed the payments from Frank Hester’s company, the Phoenix Partnership, in January. Hester also gave the party £10m last year, making him the Conservatives’ biggest donor. The Guardian reported in March that Hester had made the comments in 2019. After ministers initially refused to condemn him, a No10 spokesman eventually said in a statement: “The comments allegedly made by Frank Hester were racist and wrong.” The revelation that the Tories accepted a further £5 million from the businessman has re-ignited calls for them to hand back all of the money he has given them. Diane Abbott said the latest Hester donation was “an insult to me and all black women”. Rishi Sunak belatedly admitted Frank Hester’s remarks that “I made him hate all black woman and should be shot” were racist. Now it turns out Sunak accepted …
Kemi Badenoch In Excruciating Clash With BBC Presenter
Jon Kay: How did it make you feel when you read Frank Hester’s comments for the 1st time? Kemi Badenoch: It didn’t make me feel anything in particular JK: You said these comments were racist KB: That was a week ago… he’s apologised… move on#BBCBreakfast pic.twitter.com/cz1Du2eFcb — Haggis_UK ???????? ???????? (@Haggis_UK) March 18, 2024 Kemi Badenoch was involved in an excruciating clash with a BBC presenter this morning over top Tory donor Frank Hester’s “racist” comments about Diane Abbott. The business secretary told John Kay that the country has “moved on” from the row which has dominated the political headlines for nearly a week. Hester, who has given the Tories at least £10 million in the last year, allegedly said Abbott made him “want to hate all black women” and “should be shot”. Badenoch was the first cabinet minister to describe his remarks as “racist” last week, forcing Rishi Sunak to follow suit. But on BBC Breakfast this morning, Badenoch made clear her annoyance at being asked about the controversy. She said she was “amazed …
Minister: Frank Hester Row ‘Wasn’t Really About Diane Abbott’
Kemi Badenoch has claimed top Tory donor Frank Hester’s alleged comments about Diane Abbott “weren’t even really about Diane Abbott”. According to The Guardian, Hester said back in 2019 that Abbott made him “want to hate all Black women” and that she “should be shot”. Badenoch, the business secretary, was the first member of the government to publicly call Hester’s reported remarks racist, before even Rishi Sunak did so. But, on Monday she told LBC the Conservatives should still not give back the £10 million Hester donated last year. Speaking to LBC host Nick Ferrari, she said: “I’m actually quite surprised people suggest this. “This is something he said five years ago, he wasn’t talking to Diane Abbott, it wasn’t even really about Diane Abbott, he used her in a reference which was completely unacceptable. “He has apologised for it.” Hester’s company TTP said in a statement that Hester “accepts that he was rude about Diane Abbott in a private meeting several years ago but his criticism had nothing to do with her gender nor …
BBC Question Time: Tories Slammed For Accepting Hester Donations
Broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika suggested the Conservatives’ lacklustre response to the row around donor Frank Hester was akin to a “blank cheque for racism” on BBC Question Time last night. Hester – who donated £10 million to the Conservative Party last year – is facing intense an backlash after the Guardian reported he once said MP Diane Abbott “made him want to hate all Black women” and “should be shot”. The Tories have not handed back the money, despite growing pressure to do so. It also emerged yesterday that Hester has given the party another £5m which has yet to be declared. Directing her anger at fellow panellist Lee Rowley, the minister for housing, Hazarika said: “This guy is a disgusting racist, he is bankrolling the Conservative Party – will you give that money back?” A huge round of applause broke out at that. Hazarika also slammed the government’s defence of Hester, saying: “When you say he apologised, he did not even recognise his abhorrent, frightening racism. “He said he had just been a bit rude …
Penny Mordaunt silences Labour MP over donor row in scathing Commons takedown | Politics | News
Penny Mordaunt hit back at Labour over demands to pay back millions of pounds from a Tory donor embroiled in a racism row. The Commons Leader said Sir Keir Starmer’s party should commit to returning funding from donors who have made controversial remarks if it were “sincere” in its criticism of Conservative backer Frank Hester. Speaking during Business Questions in the Commons, Ms Mordaunt said: “There might be some that would come to this despatch box today and attempt to argue that such a refund isn’t practically possible or warranted, but I am not going to attempt to do that. “The point she made is not concerned with the practicalities of doing so, or the consequences to CCHQ’s payroll or the ability of my party to fight a general election. No, no, it is a point of principle and I respect that.” “She could not have been clearer in what she has said today. She has stated that it is wrong to take funds from people who say horrible things, no matter when they were …
Sunak says Tory donor’s ‘remorse should be accepted’ when urged to return cash
Sir Keir Starmer has challenged the Prime Minister to hand back donations to Frank Hester amid a racism row. Source link
Have your say on whether Tories give Frank Hester’s donations back | Politics | News
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing calls to return the money businessman Frank Hester has donated to the Conservative Party. The healthcare technology entrepreneur donated £10million to the Tories last year but has come under fire for comments made about Britain’s first female Black MP. The Guardian reported on Monday that he told colleagues in 2019 that looking at Diane Abbott makes you “want to hate all black women”. Mr Hester said he accepted that he had made “rude” remarks about the Labour MP, but insisted his criticism “had nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”. Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and former Tory leader Lord William Hague all said that the comments made by Mr Hester were racist. Mr Sunak’s spokesperson later said: “The comments allegedly made by Frank Hester were racist and wrong. He has now rightly apologised for the offence caused and where remorse is shown it should be accepted. “The prime minister is clear there is no place for racism in public life, and as …
No 10 brands Frank Hester’s Diane Abbott comments ‘racist and wrong’ | Politics | News
A Tory donor’s comments about Diane Abbott were “racist and wrong”, Downing Street has declared. Frank Hester, who has donated £10million to the Conservatives, said the MP made him want to “hate all black women”. Mr Hester apologised for making “rude” comments but said his remarks “had nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”. But the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The comments allegedly made by Frank Hester were racist and wrong. He has now rightly apologised for the offence caused and where remorse is shown it should be accepted. “The Prime Minister is clear there is no place for racism in public life and as the first British-Asian Prime Minister leading one of the most ethnically diverse Cabinets in our history, the UK is living proof of that fact.” Opponents criticised the Tories’ reluctance to describe Mr Hester’s reported remarks as racist and urged the governing party to hand back the money he and his company have donated. But Cabinet minister Kemi Badenoch then broke ranks with No 10 to describe …
Cabinet Minister Slammed For Saying ‘Move On’ Over Frank Hester’s Dianne Abbott Comments
A cabinet minister has been condemned after he said people need to “move on” from a race row engulfing the Tory Party’s biggest donor. Frank Hester, who gave the Conservatives £10 million last year, reportedly said Diane Abbott made him “want to hate all black women” and that she “should be shot”. But work and pensions secretary Mel Stride said that while the remarks were “inappropriate”, it was not “a gender-based or a race-based comment”.wes He added: “He has apologised and I think we need to move on from that.” Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said Stride’s response showed the Tory Party was “rotten to its core and unfit for office”. Former Tory adviser Sam Freedman said: “This line is so appalling that it can only be in use because Hester is demanding that they stick to his line. “Mel Stride is not a stupid person. There is no way he thinks this is a good or reasonable line.” Asked if the Tories should hand back the money Hester gave them, he said: “We can’t …