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 declined to 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 £10 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.
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.”
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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.”
Electoral Commission records show 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.
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.
“I am a single woman and that makes me vulnerable anyway. But to hear someone talking like this is worrying.”
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.”
Ms Badenoch followed fellow Tory MPs Kwasi Kwarteng and Marcus Fysh who both condemned Mr Hester’s alleged remarks.
Former Tory chancellor Mr Kwarteng said: “If he said what he is alleged to have said, I can’t see how they’re not racist comments.”
And fellow Tory MP Marcus Fish tweeted: “On this, I side with Diane Abbott.”
