Diane Abbott says Tory donor Frank Hester’s remarks ‘frightening’

Diane Abbott: ‘I live in Hackney, I don’t drive, so I find myself, at weekends, popping on a bus or even walking places, more than most MPs.’ Photograph: Dominc Lipinski/PA

Diane Abbott has said it is “frightening” to hear of remarks made by Conservative donor Frank Hester, who told colleagues that looking at her made you “want to hate all black women” and said the MP “should be shot”.

Hester, who has given £10m to the Tories in the past year, said in a 2019 meeting reported by the Guardian that he did not hate all black women. But he said that seeing Abbott, who is Britain’s longest-serving black MP, on TV meant “you just want to hate all black women because she’s there”.