Remarks of Tory donor investigated

LONDON — Police in northern England said Friday that they are investigating whether the largest donor to Britain’s Conservative government committed a crime when he reportedly said a Black member of Parliament made him “want to hate all Black women” and that she “should be shot.”

Frank Hester, the chief executive of health care software firm The Phoenix Partnership, allegedly made the remarks in 2019 about Diane Abbott, the first Black woman to serve in the House of Commons.

West Yorkshire police said officers were “working to establish the facts and to ultimately ascertain whether a crime has been committed.”

Hester apologized for making “rude” remarks about Abbott but said he’s not racist. A statement from his company said his comments had nothing to do with Abbott’s skin color or gender.

Abbott disputed that Hester had apologized properly.

“He’s apologized for being rude, whereas in fact he was racist, and he’s not apologized for that,” Abbott told Channel 4 News. “In fact, he was inciting violence. He’s not apologized for that.”

The Tory party has resisted pressure from opposition politicians to return the $12.6 million Hester has given to the party.

The comments reported March 11 by The Guardian swiftly embroiled the Conservatives in a controversy as they sought to criticize the remarks but refused for nearly 24 hours to label them as racist. The party, which has been in power for 14 years, faces an election later this year and polling shows them trailing far behind Labour.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak initially criticized Hester’s comments as “unacceptable,” but his spokesperson didn’t label the remarks racist until Cabinet minister Kemi Badenoch, who is Black, broke ranks and accused Hester of racism.