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The Conservative Party is “in talks” about an additional £5m from a Tory donor embroiled in a race row, Sky News understands.

Two sources said discussions are ongoing about the extra money from Frank Hester, which if received, would take the amount he has donated since 2019 to £15m.

Politics Live: 62 Tory MPs now standing down at next election

The businessman has been embroiled in a race row over comments he is reported to have made about left-wing MP Diane Abbott, including that she “should be shot” and that she makes him “want to hate all black women”.

Reports emerged on Thursday that the donor – who had already given £10m to the party personally and through his firm The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) – may have given another £5m which has not yet been published by the Electoral Commission.

The watchdog only publishes lists of donations every three months but according to Tortoise Media, a Tory source said the party is “sitting on” a further £5m of cash.

However, Sky News understands the money has not yet been handed over.

There has been no official comment from the party on the reports.

Earlier, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the Conservatives are “absolutely” transparent about declaring donations – while refusing to confirm if his party had received more money from Mr Hester.

Asked if that was the case, Mr Hunt did not answer the question directly but said: We absolutely are transparent. We follow all the rules, the regulations. We believe in that transparency.

“Many of the laws about that we actually passed ourselves and the Conservative Party fully complies with all the requirements to be transparent about all donations.”

Meanwhile, on Thursday the British Medical Association’s general practice committee, which represent all UK GPs, voted in favour of an emergency motion calling on Mr Hester to stand down from the TPP, a healthcare software provider.

The motion read: “This meeting is disgusted by the reported violent, openly racist and misogynistic comments, made by Frank Hester, director of The Phoenix Partnership (TPP), and directed at the Rt Hon Ms Diane Abbott MP.”

Mr Hester’s comments have drawn widespread criticism, with the prime minister describing them as “racist” and “wrong”.

The donor said he was “deeply sorry” for the remarks, but insisted they had “nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”.

The Tories were already under pressure to hand back the £10m in donations Mr Hester is known to have made since 2019.

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‘Remorse of donor should be accepted’

In a sign of internal divisions over the row, the Scottish Tories have called for a “review” into the donations with deputy leader Meghan Gallacher saying it would determine “what the party knew and how we can actually move forward”.

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland on Friday, she said she could not comment on the “unverified” donation, but that she would seek clarification from the UK Conservative Party on the report.

Read More:
Diane Abbott slams Speaker for not calling her to talk on race row
Abbott ‘frightened’ after alleged remarks from Tory donor

While Mr Sunak has condemned Mr Hester’s remarks, he has said his apology should be accepted.

He appeared to rule out handing back the cash during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, saying he was “pleased” the businessman was supporting “one of the most diverse governments in this country’s history”.

Responding to the latest reports, Anneliese Dodds, the Labour Party Chair, said: “It is frankly staggering that, after his repugnant racist and sexist remarks, the Conservative Party are still trying to arrange a donation from Frank Hester. It shows the depths to which the Tory Party has fallen.

“The Conservatives need to pay back every penny, cut ties with Frank Hester and apologise unequivocally to Diane Abbott.

“And Rishi Sunak needs to grow a backbone and deal with the extreme views that appear to be tolerated in his party.”

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Trust Wallet taps Revolut for crypto purchases in Europe

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Trust Wallet taps Revolut for crypto purchases in Europe

Trust Wallet, the self-custodial crypto wallet owned by Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, has partnered with European fintech unicorn and digital banking giant Revolut to introduce a new way to purchase crypto assets on its platform.

Trust Wallet users can now buy Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL) with Revolut through a direct integration, the company announced on Thursday.

With a minimum purchase starting at 10 euros ($12) and capped at 23,000 euros ($26,950) daily and per transaction, Trust Wallet’s new buy option is expected to provide a faster and easier way to access crypto from Europe.

In October, Revolut scored regulatory approval from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission to offer crypto services across 30 European Economic Area markets in compliance with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework.

Stablecoins like USDC not supported, for now

The integration will initially support only three crypto assets, but the companies said they expect to add stablecoins such as Circle’s USDC (USDC) at a later stage.

The feature enables zero-fee crypto purchases using multiple fiat currencies supported by Revolut, including the euro, the British pound, as well as the Czech koruna, Danish Krone, Polish Złoty and others.

Europe, Payments, Changpeng Zhao, Revolut, MiCA, Self Custody, Trust Wallet
Source: Trust Wallet

While Revolut–Trust Wallet crypto purchases are offered with zero fees, adding money to a Revolut account is not free of charge in many cases, including via bank transfers, card top-ups and cash deposits. Cash deposits are subject to a 1.5% fee and are limited to $3,000 per calendar month, according to Revolut’s FAQs.

Related: Crypto self-custody is a fundamental right, says SEC’s Hester Peirce

The integration came shortly after Revolut secured a $75 billion company valuation after completing a private share sale in late November. “This makes us Europe’s most valuable private company and in the top 10 of the world’s most valuable private companies,” Revolut said in a post on X.

CZ-backed Trust Wallet has been actively tapping into trending market sectors, including prediction markets and real-world asset tokenization, expanding access to these offerings for self-custody users.

Cointelegraph contacted Revolut and Trust Wallet for comment on the integration, but had not received a response by publication.