Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has said alleged comments made about Diane Abbott by a Tory donor were “racist” – but that there should be “space for forgiveness”.

Ms Badenoch is the first cabinet minister to use the term to describe Frank Hester‘s reported remarks about the former Labour MP, after government ministers including Graham Stuart and Mel Stride criticised the comments but did not call them racist.

Mr Hester allegedly said Ms Abbott made him “want to hate all black women” and that the MP “should be shot”, according to reports in the Guardian.

In a statement written on his behalf on Monday night, Mr Hester – who donated £10m to the Tories last year – said he was “deeply sorry” about the comments but said they had “nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”.

Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson has described the remarks as “unacceptable” but also would not say if they he believed they were racist.

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But in a post on X, Ms Badenoch wrote: “Hester’s 2019 comments, as reported, were racist. I welcome his apology.

“Abbott and I disagree on a lot. But the idea of linking criticism of her, to being a black woman is appalling.

“It’s never acceptable to conflate someone’s views with the colour of their skin.”

She added: “MPs have a difficult job balancing multiple interests – often under threats of intimidation as we saw recently in parliament.

“Some people make flippant comments without thinking of this context.

“This is why there needs to be space for forgiveness where there is contrition.”

According to the Westminster Accounts project, a joint venture between Sky News and Tortoise Media to shine a light on how money works in politics, Mr Hester’s Phoenix Partnership has donated £5.1m to the Conservatives since the 2019 election and has also individually donated £5m.

The company also made a single donation of £15,900 to Mr Sunak. Dated 11 December 2023, the donation was categorised as “support linked to an MP but received by a local party organisation or indirectly via a central party organisation”.

The prime minister’s entry in the register of members’ financial interests said the donation involved the “provision of [a] helicopter to fly me to a political visit and event on 23 November 2023”.

According to The Guardian, Mr Hester made the remarks about Ms Abbott in 2019 during a meeting at his Leeds company headquarters.

He reportedly said: “It’s like trying not to be racist but you see Diane Abbott on the TV, and you’re just like… you just want to hate all black women because she’s there.

“And I don’t hate all black women at all, but I think she should be shot.”

In a statement on Tuesday, Ms Abbott – the UK’s first black woman to become an MP – said Mr Hester’s comments had put her in a “frightening” position and that she found the remarks “alarming” following the murders of fellow politicians Jo Cox in 2016 and Sir David Amess in 2021.

“It is frightening,” said Ms Abbott. “I live in Hackney and do not drive, so I find myself, at weekends, popping on a bus or even walking places more than most MPs.

She added: “For all of my career as an MP I have thought it important not to live in a bubble, but to mix and mingle with ordinary people. The fact that two MPs have been murdered in recent years makes talk like this all the more alarming.”

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Opposition parties have strongly criticised the government’s response to Mr Hester’s alleged remarks, with London mayor Sadiq Khan saying it “beggars belief” that the Tories have “failed to call out” the remarks as “racist and misogynistic”.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats have also called on the Conservatives to return the money donated by Mr Hester.

Chair of the Labour Party, Anneliese Dodds, also told Sky News the party had been in touch with Ms Abbott and would “continue to make sure” her welfare was looked after.