Reports that Frank Hester donated an additional but as yet undeclared £5m to the Conservative party on top of the £10m already known about catapult him into the number one position in the league table of Tory donors.
In the last quarter of 2023, the Conservatives received £9.8m and Labour £6m in donations, according to the Electoral Commission. In total, political parties accepted donations of more than £93m last year, compared with £52m in 2022.