Image source, YouTube/PA Media
- author, Henry Zeffman
- role, Chief Political Correspondent
-
New figures show the Conservative party received £5 million in donations from Frank Hester’s company in January, before he was embroiled in controversy over allegations he made racist comments.
The Electoral Commission said on January 10 that the Conservative Party received £5 million from Phoenix Partnership, a healthcare software company run by Hester.
Hester donated £10 million to the Conservative Party last year.
In March, before the latest £5 million donation was made but was even known, the tech company’s boss was thrust into the centre of a political controversy over allegations that he told staff that Labour politician Diane Abbott “should be shot”.
Hester also donated £150,000 to the Conservative party on March 8, three days before the Guardian first reported his comments.
The donation was formally received by the Conservative Party on March 14, according to the Electoral Commission.
It came the day after Rishi Sunak faced a storm of criticism at Chancellor’s Questions about Hester, who branded the alleged comments “wrong” and “racist” but made it clear the Conservatives would not refund Hester’s money.
Hester apologised for his “disrespectful” comments about Abbott but said his comments had “nothing to do with her gender or the colour of her skin”.
Abbott said Sunak’s acceptance of the donation was “an insult to me and to all black women”.
Labour Party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds said: “Rishi Sunak has proven he is a man without integrity.”
“He is too weak to return money donated by a man who has made violent, misogynistic and racist comments that have absolutely no bearing on the politics of our country.”
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “How far can Rishi Sunak’s Conservative party go? If the Conservatives use this money they will be proudly funded by a man who has made some of the most horrific racist and sexist comments.”
“Ultimately the responsibility lies with Rishi Sunak, who must step in and ensure that not a penny of this money is spent.”
A Conservative spokesman said: “Mr Hester has of course apologised for his past comments.”
“Mr Hester has apologised and demonstrated remorse and we believe the matter has now been resolved.”
Hester was the Conservative Party’s largest donor in the first quarter of 2024.
The next highest donor was Direct Line founder Sir Peter Wood, who donated £500,000 to the party.
Other notable donors include businessmen Lord Hintze and Lord Ashcroft, who gave £50,000 each.
During the same period, Labour received £1.6 million from Ecotricity, a company run by Dale Vince, whose most recent donations to the party are around £4 million.
Vince sparked controversy last year when it was revealed he had also donated to Just Stop Oil, and in October he suspended his funding for the organisation, calling its protests “counterproductive”.
The Labour Party also received £700,000 from hedge fund manager Martin Taylor.
Apart from the business world, the party received £180,000 from artist Grayson Perry and £85,000 from Maggie Hambling.
The Electoral Commission’s register already showed that Hester’s total donations last year amounted to £10 million.
There is a three-month delay before the donations are made public by the committee.
Tortoise Media reported in March that the Conservative Party had received a further £5 million from the businessman, but the party has previously refused to confirm whether this was true.
Hester is said to have said that veteran Congressman Diane Abbott “makes me want to hate all black women” and that Abbott “should be shot.”
At the time the comments were published, Mr Abbott had been suspended as a Labour MP for saying Irish people, Jews and Travellers had not been subject to racism “throughout their lives”. He retracted the comments and apologised “for any distress caused”.
The controversy has increased pressure on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to lift the suspension of Abbott, the first black woman elected to Parliament.
But the former shadow home secretary, veteran leftist and close aide to former leader Jeremy Corbyn only rejoined the party last week.
It remained unclear whether he would be allowed to stand as a Labour candidate in his former constituencies of Hackney North and Stoke Newington, until Sir Keir announced on Friday that he was free to run for office with the party.
