Frank Hester: Tories ‘in talks’ over extra £5m from donor embroiled in Diane Abbott race row
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.
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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.”
Altcoins may see a resurgence in the second quarter of 2025 as regulations for digital assets continue to improve, according to Swiss bank Sygnum.
In its Q2 2025 investment outlook, Sygnum said the space has seen “drastically improved” regulations for crypto use cases, creating the foundations for a strong alt-sector rally for the second quarter. However, it added that “none of the positive developments have been priced in.”
In April, Bitcoin dominance reached a four-year high, signaling that crypto investors are rotating their funds into an asset perceived to be relatively safer.
But Sygnum believes regulatory developments in the US, such as President Donald Trump’s establishment of a Digital Asset Stockpile and advancing stablecoin regulations, could propel broader crypto adoption.
“We expect protocols successful in gaining user traction to outperform and Bitcoin’s dominance to decline,” Sygnum wrote.
Increased focus on economic value ignites competition
Sygnum also said that competition would increase as the market focuses on economic value. Increased competition in a market often results in better products, ultimately benefiting consumers:
“The market’s increased focus on economic value compels greater competition for user growth and revenues, with rising protocols such as Toncoin, Sui, Aptos, Sonic, or Berachain taking different approaches.”
Sygnum added that while high-performance blockchains address limitations of the Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana blockchains, these chains find it challenging to achieve meaningful adoption and fee income.
The report highlighted that some approaches have been more sustainable. These include Berachain’s approach of incentivizing validators to provide liquidity to decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, Sonic’s rewarding developers that attract and retain users, and Toncoin’s Telegram affiliation to access one billion users.
Aside from layer-1 chains, Sygnum highlighted that layer-2 networks like Base also have potential. The report pointed out that while the memecoin frenzy on the blockchain pushed its users and revenue to new highs, it made an equally sharp decline after memecoins started losing steam.
Despite this, Sygnum noted that Base remains the layer-2 leader in metrics like daily transactions, throughput and total value locked.
Related: Italy finance minister warns US stablecoins pose bigger threat than tariffs
Memecoins still a leading crypto narrative in Q1
Despite recent price declines, memecoins remained a dominant crypto narrative in Q1 2025. A CoinGecko report recently highlighted that memecoins remained dominant as a crypto narrative in the first quarter of 2025. The crypto data company said memecoins had 27.1% of global investor interest, second only to artificial intelligence tokens, which had 35.7%.
While retail investors are still busy with memecoins, institutions have a different approach. Asset manager Bitwise reported on April 14 that publicly traded firms are stacking up on Bitcoin. At least twelve public companies purchased Bitcoin for the first time in Q1 2025, pushing public firm holdings to $57 billion.
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It was perhaps not quite how officials, in London at least, had envisaged the announcement of the state visit would be made.
In the Oval Office, Donald Trump revealed the news in his own way.
“I was invited by the King and the great country. They are going to do a second fest – that’s what it is. It is beautiful,” he said during an impromptu Oval Office moment.
The question was, did this “fest” – which Mr Trump suggested could happen in September – amount to the much hyped second state visit for the American president?
Or was this actually just the smaller visit that had been offered two months ago as an initial bilateral visit at which the state visit would be discussed?
Back in February, Sir Keir Starmer presented the president with a letter from King Charles and the offer of a state visit.
The letter proposed an initial meeting between the King and the president to discuss details of the state visit at either Dumfries House or Balmoral, both in Scotland, close to Mr Trump’s golf clubs.
The King wrote: “Quite apart from this presenting an opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest, it would also offer a valuable chance to plan a historic second state visit to the United Kingdom… As you will know this is unprecedented by a US president. That is why I would find it helpful for us to be able to discuss, together, a range of options for location and programme content.”
As he revealed the news of his “fest” with his “friend Charles”, Mr Trump said: “I think they are setting a date for September…”
Sources have since confirmed to Sky News that it will amount to the full state visit.
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Sir Keir Starmer handed Trump the invite earlier this year. Pic: Reuters
‘Even more important’
It’s possible the initial less formal presidential trip may still happen between now and September. Mr Trump is in Europe for the NATO summit in June and is due in Scotland to open a new golf course soon too.
“It is the second time it has happened to one person. The reason is we have two separate terms, and it’s an honour to be a friend of King Charles and the family, William,” the president said.
“I don’t know how it can be bigger than the last one. The last one was incredible, but they say the next one will be even more important.”
His last state visit in 2019, at the invitation of the late Queen, drew significant protests epitomised by the giant blow-up “Baby Trump” which floated over Parliament Square.
The president was hosted by the Queen in June 2019. Pic: Reuters
Britain’s trump card
September is a little earlier than had been expected for the visit. It may be an advantage for it to happen sooner rather than later, given the profoundly consequential and controversial nature of the first few months of his second term.
The decision by the British government to play its “state visit trump card” up front back in February drew some criticism.
And since February, Mr Trump’s position on numerous issues has been increasingly at odds with all of America’s allies.
On Ukraine, he has seemingly aligned himself closely with Vladimir Putin. His tariffs have caused a global economic shock. And on issues like Greenland and Canada, a member of the Commonwealth, he has generated significant diplomatic shock.
A risk worth taking
Mr Trump is as divisive among the British public as he is in America. Sir Keir is already walking a political tightrope by choosing the softly softly approach with the White House.
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The UK government chose not to retaliate against Mr Trump’s tariffs, unlike some allies. Sir Keir and his cabinet have been at pains not to be seen to criticise the president in any way as they seek to influence him on Ukraine and seek an elusive economic deal on tariffs.
On that tariff deal, despite some positive language from the US side and offers on the table, there has yet to be a breakthrough. A continuing challenge is engaging with the president for decisions and agreements only he, not his cabinet, will make.
British officials acknowledge the risk the state visit poses. In this presidency, anything could happen between now and September.
But they argue British soft power and Mr Trump’s fondness for the Royal Family and pomp – or a “fest” as he calls it – amount to vital diplomatic clout.
For a special relationship under strain, a special state visit is the tonic.
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