At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Rishi Sunak was forced to defend Tory donor Frank Hester, who allegedly said black MP Diane Abbott “should be shot”. The row comes just two weeks after the Prime Minister gave a speech condemning extremism and promising a new definition of the term.
Mr Sunak acknowledged the reported comments were “wrong” and “racist”, and noted that Mr Hester had apologised. However, he refused to return the businessman’s donations, which include nearly £16,000 for a helicopter ride. SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn accused Mr Sunak of “putting money before morals” and said the apology was “complete rubbish”.
The PM hit back by citing Labour’s troubles in Rochdale, where a by-election candidate was suspended for antisemitic remarks. But the defence did little to calm Tory MPs, some of whom publicly questioned Mr Sunak’s political judgment.
The scandal adds to a difficult fortnight for the Conservatives. Last week’s Budget failed to boost polls, and former deputy chairman Lee Anderson defected to Reform UK after refusing to apologise for claiming Sadiq Khan was controlled by Islamists.
Opposition MPs said Mr Sunak should focus on extremism in his own party rather than staging speeches. The row has renewed calls for a leadership change before the general election.
