The chief executive of a British company who is considered a major funder of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party was called out this week for racist comments he made about Dianne Abbott, the first Black woman ever elected to the U.K.’s Parliament.
Frank Hester of health care software company The Phoenix Partnership allegedly said about Abbott during a 2019 company meeting, “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,” The Independent reported.
Abbott, 70, represents an area of North London and was elected to the House of Commons in 1987, according to The Associated Press.
The news agency said that, according to a statement from Hester’s company, he called Abbott on Monday to apologize “for the hurt he has caused her.”
The statement continues, “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 color of skin. He wishes to make it clear that he regards racism as a poison which has no place in public life.”
Britain’s Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, denounced the comments this week as “wrong” and “racist” but added that Hester had “rightly [apologized] for them and that remorse should be accepted,” according to The Guardian.
“The Prime Minister is clear there is no place for racism in public life, and as the first British-Asian Prime Minister leading one of the most ethnically diverse Cabinets in our history, the U.K. is living proof of that fact,” Sunak’s statement issued on Tuesday read.
Political opposition parties who have condemned Hester’s remarks have called for the Conservative Party to return the £10 million he donated to the party last year, according to The Associated Press.
Keir Starmer, who leads the U.K.’s Labour Party, said about Hester’s comments, “How low would he have to sink, what racist, woman-hating threats of violence would he have to make before the prime minister plucked up the courage to hand back the £10m he has taken from him?” according to The Guardian.
The prime minister said the Conservative Party won’t be returning the funds from Hester, the outlet reported.
Kemi Badenoch, a Black member of U.K.’s Parliament, referred to Hester’s 2019 comments as racist on X and added that she welcomed 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 [color] of their skin,” Badenoch wrote.
Abbott also responded to what Hester reportedly said about her, calling it “frightening.”
“I am a single woman and that makes me vulnerable anyway. But to hear someone talking like this is worrying,” Abbott said, according to the Independent, which reported that Abbott reported Hester to police after his comments came to light.
“The fact that two [Members of Parliament] have been murdered in recent years makes talk like this all the more alarming,” Abbott said.
