Who is Tory donor Frank Hester and what did he reportedly say about Diane Abbott?
Businessman Frank Hester has been widely condemned after the emergence of comments he allegedly made about Diane Abbott.
Hackney MP Ms Abbott has since responded, saying the Tory donor’s reported comments had put her in a “frightening” position.
But who is Mr Hester and what is he alleged to have said about Ms Abbott?
How Mr Hester made his fortune
The 58-year-old healthcare entrepreneur is founder and chief executive of The Phoenix Partnership (TPP).
Based in Leeds, TPP describes itself as “a leading global provider of healthcare technology”.
It says it provides “vital clinical IT services in… more than 2,600 GP practices”.
During the pandemic, it was reported to have won a six-figure contract to supply data on vaccine uptake levels.
Mr Hester, who was awarded an OBE in 2015 for services to healthcare, made last year’s Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated fortune of £415m.
He was a computer programmer when he founded TTP in 1997 and was listed as one of the UK’s top 50 innovators in the national health publication Health Service Journal in 2013.
Huge donations to the Tories
Mr Hester donated £10m to the Tories last year, including a £5m donation to Rishi Sunak that came from him personally and another £5m that came from his healthcare software firm in November, Electoral Commission records show.
His ties to the party go back a long way.
In 2013, he travelled to India with David Cameron, the then-prime minister, as part of what was Britain’s biggest-ever trade delegation.
“This trip is worth a lot of money to us – it’s invaluable,” Mr Hester reportedly told the Financial Times during the trip.
“Being with the PM and UK Trade and Investment means we [see] the right people.”
Frank Hester with former Tory leader and prime minister David Cameron
Frank Hester chats with ex-Conservative PM Boris Johnson
The following year, Jeremy Hunt, the then health secretary, visited TPP’s headquarters, saying: “Technology is the key to 21st century personalised healthcare, so it is great to see companies like TPP leading the way with new software that will put [care home] residents in control of their health.”
What were his alleged remarks about Ms Abbott?
According to The Guardian, Mr Hester made remarks about Ms Abbott in 2019 during a meeting at his Leeds company headquarters.
In an article published on Monday, the publication reported he 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.”
How has Mr Hester responded?
A spokesperson for the entrepreneur released a statement saying: “Frank 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 colour of skin.
“The Guardian is right when it quotes Frank saying he abhors racism, not least because he experienced it as the child of Irish immigrants in the 1970s.”
It added: “He rang Diane Abbott twice today to try to apologise directly for the hurt he has caused her, and is deeply sorry for his remarks.
“He wishes to make it clear that he regards racism as a poison which has no place in public life.”
How Ms Abbott responded
In her own statement, Ms Abbott, the UK’s first black woman to become an MP, detailed how “alarming” the alleged remarks were in light of the murder of two politicians since 2016.
“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.
“I am a single woman and that makes me vulnerable anyway. But to hear someone talking like this is worrying.”
Diane Abbott
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.”
PM’s spokesperson says comments ‘unacceptable’ but ministers refuse to call them racist
Asked about the reported remarks at a regular briefing with journalists, Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said they were “clearly unacceptable”, but refused to say if they were racist.
Energy minister Graham Stuart told Sky News the remarks were “truly awful”.
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Graham Stuart MP said the alleged comments about Diane Abbott MP by Tory donor Frank Hester were ‘truly awful’, but says he
The PM’s spokesperson referred to Mr Stuart’s comments as he said: “I wouldn’t usually comment on alleged words, second-hand accounts, etcetera.
“But, as minister Stuart said this morning, what is alleged and reported to have been said is clearly unacceptable.”
He refused to be drawn on why they were unacceptable, adding: “I don’t have anything to add beyond what minister Stuart said this morning.”
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride also told broadcasters the comments were “inappropriate”, but added: “I think the critical point here is I don’t think what he was saying was a gender-based or a race-based comment.”
Conservative MP and former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, however, said that the reported comments were “clearly racist and sexist”.
Calls for funds from Mr Hester to be returned
Sir Keir Starmer, London mayor Sadiq Khan and other political opponents of the Tories have demanded that the party return the money Mr Hester donated.
The Labour leader told ITV’s Lorraine: “The comments about Diane Abbott are just abhorrent.
“And Diane has been a trailblazer, she has paved the way for others, she’s probably faced more abuse than any other politician over the years on a sustained basis.
“And I’m sorry, this apology this morning that is pretending that what was said wasn’t racist or anything to do with the fact she’s a woman, I don’t buy that I’m afraid, and I think that it’s time the Tory party called it out and returned the money.”
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Khan demands PM ‘grow a backbone’
The PM has not directly commented on the demands, nor has the Conservative Party.
Asked if the party should return Mr Hester’s donations, Mr Stuart said: “We can’t cancel anybody from participation in public life, or indeed, donating to parties because they said something intemperate or wrong in their past.”
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Politics
Row over how many farms will be affected by inheritance tax policy – as PM doubles down ahead of farmers protest
Sir Keir Starmer has insisted the “vast majority of farmers” will not be affected by changes to Inheritance Tax (IHT) ahead of a protest outside parliament on Tuesday.
It follows Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing a 20% inheritance tax that will apply to farms worth more than £1m from April 2026, where they were previously exempt.
But the prime minister looked to quell fears as he resisted calls to change course.
Speaking from the G20 summit in Brazil, he said: “If you take a typical case of a couple wanting to pass a family farm down to one of their children, which would be a very typical example, with all of the thresholds in place, that’s £3m before any inheritance tax is paid.”
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The comments come as thousands of farmers, including celebrity farmer Jeremy Clarkson, are due to descend on Whitehall on Tuesday to protest the change.
And 1,800 more will take part in a “mass lobby” where members of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) will meet their MPs in parliament to urge them to ask Ms Reeves to reconsider the policy.
Speaking to broadcasters, Sir Keir insisted the government is supportive of farmers, pointing to a £5bn investment announced for them in the budget.
He said: “I’m confident that the vast majority of farms and farmers will not be affected at all by that aspect of the budget.
“They will be affected by the £5bn that we’re putting into farming. And I’m very happy to work with farmers on that.”
Sir Keir’s spokesman made a similar argument earlier on Monday, saying the government expects 73% of farms to not be affected by the change.
Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs Secretary Steve Reed said only about 500 out of the UK’s 209,000 farms would be affected, according to Treasury calculations.
However, that number has been questioned by several farming groups and the Conservatives.
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Government figures ‘misleading’
The NFU said the real number is about two-thirds, with its president Tom Bradshaw calling the government’s figures “misleading” and accusing it of not understanding the sector.
The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) said the policy could affect 70,000 farms.
Conservative shadow farming minister Robbie Moore accused the government last week of “regurgitating” figures that represent “past claimants of agricultural property relief, not combined with business property relief” because he said the Treasury does not have that data.
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Agricultural property relief (APR) currently provides farmers 100% relief from paying inheritance tax on agricultural land or pasture used for rearing livestock or fish, and can include woodland and buildings, such as farmhouses, if they are necessary for that land to function.
Farmers can also claim business property relief (BPR), providing 50% or 100% relief on assets used by a trading business, which for farmers could include land, buildings, plant or machinery used by the business, farm shops and holiday cottages.
APR and BPR can often apply to the same asset, especially farmed land, but APR should be the priority, however BPR can be claimed in addition if APR does not cover the full value (e.g. if the land has development value above its agricultural value).
APR and BPR can apply to farmland, which the Conservatives say has been overlooked by the Treasury in compiling its impact figures. File pic: iStock
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Mr Moore said the Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Treasury have disagreed on how many farms will be impacted “by as much as 40%” due to the lack of data on farmers using BPR.
Lib Dem MP Tim Farron said last week1,400 farmers in Cumbria, where he is an MP, will be affected and will not be able to afford to pay the tax as many are on less than the minimum wage despite being asset rich.
Politics
Cabinet split over assisted dying as Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson latest to reveal she will vote against bill
A split is emerging in the cabinet, with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson revealing she will join several of her colleagues and vote against the bill to legalise assisted dying.
Ms Phillipson told Sky News she will vote against the proposed legislation at the end of this month, which would give terminally ill people with six months to live the option to end their lives.
She voted against assisted dying in 2015 and said: “I haven’t changed my mind.
“I continue to think about this deeply. But my position hasn’t changed since 2015.”
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Details of end of life bill released
MPs will be given a free vote on the bill, so they will not be told how to vote by their party.
The topic has seen a split in the cabinet – however, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has yet to reveal how he will vote on 29 November.
Ms Phillipson joins some other big names who have publicly said they are voting against the bill
These include Deputy PM Angela Rayner, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
Border security minister Angela Eagle is also voting against the bill.
Senior cabinet members voting in favour of assisted dying include Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Science Secretary Peter Kyle, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh and Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens.
The split over the issue is said to be causing friction within government, with Sir Keir rebuking the health secretary for repeatedly saying he is against the bill and for ordering officials to review the costs of implementing any changes in the law.
Read more:
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Health Secretary Wes Streeting has called for a cost report into assisted dying. Pic: PA
Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates has been told Morgan McSweeney, the PM’s chief of staff, is concerned about the politics of the bill passing.
He is understood to be worried the issue will dominate the agenda next year and, while he is not taking a view on the bill, he can see it taking over the national conversation and distracting from core government priorities like the economy and borders.
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Details of the bill were published last week and include people wanting to end their life having to self-administer the medicine.
It would only be allowed for terminally ill people who have been given six months to live.
Two independent doctors would have to confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge would have to give their approval before it could go ahead.
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