Ross urged to ensure cash from racism row Tory donor not used in Scotland

Scottish Labour said Scots would be ‘appalled’ if the funds from Frank Hesterare are used north of the border.
The letter was sent to Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross (Michal Wachucik/PA)
PA Wire
Craig Paton13 March 2024
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Scottish Labour has sought assurances from the Conservatives that donations made by Frank Hester will not be used north of the border after allegations of racism against the businessman.

Mr Hester is alleged to have said Labour MP Diane Abbott made him “want to hate all black women” and that she “should be shot”.

In a letter to Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie urged him not to use any of the £10 million given to the party by Mr Hester during the upcoming general election campaign.

Responding, a spokesman for the Scottish party said the comments were “racist” and urged the UK party to review donations from Mr Hester.

This now means it is your responsibility to refuse support from your party if it is funded by Frank Hester’s money

Dame Jackie Baillie, in letter to Douglas Ross

She wrote: “The Conservative Party has taken £10 million in donations since February 2023 from Frank Hester or The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) where he is founder and sole shareholder.

“Yet, Rishi Sunak has refused to return the money.

“This now means it is your responsibility to refuse support from your party if it is funded by Frank Hester’s money.

“The people of Scotland – including Scottish Conservative supporters – would be appalled if your party used this money in the coming election, given its source.

“It would be helpful for you to clearly state that you will not benefit from the donation of Mr Hester.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Tories said: “These comments were racist and wrong.

“The Scottish Conservative Party has never accepted a donation from Frank Hester and the UK Conservative Party should carefully review the donations it has received from Hester in response to his remarks.”

On Wednesday, a UK Government minister said the party will not hand back the donations from Mr Hester despite mounting pressure and the Prime Minister accepting the comments were racist.

On Sky News, Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake was asked if he was comfortable spending money donated by Mr Hester, responding: “On the basis he is not a racist, has apologised for what he said, yes.”

Pressed on whether the party would take more money from him, the minister told BBC Breakfast: “As I now understand the situation, yes.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in