Frank Hester donated £10,172,200 to the Tories last year, figures showA top Conservative donor who made racist comments about Diane Abbott handed over a fifth of all money given to the party last year,can reveal – highlighting the difficulty Rishi Sunak faces amid growing Tory calls to repay the cash.
The Scottish Conservatives on Wednesday said the party should “carefully review the donations”, while former Tory chair Chris Patten suggested it was unreasonable to take £10m from someone who made racist comments, and West Midlands mayor Andy Street said he would give the money back, adding: “I would think about the company I kept.”
The party has refused to say whether the tycoon has given additional cash which will be registered in its next set of reported accounts.Labour is building up its own election war chest with a number of multi-million-pound donations, although its overall fundraising still appears to lag behind the Conservatives’.
Mr Sunak reiterated that “the gentleman apologised genuinely for his comments and that remorse should be accepted”.