Diane Abbott PMQs latest: Sunak rejects calls to give back Frank Hester’s £10m donation amid racism row

Jeremy Hunt has said his ambition to scrap national insurance contributions will not happen in the next parliament.

The chancellor used his Budget earlier this month to set out a 2p cut in national insurance from April with a vague promise to deliver a simpler tax system by eventually getting rid of it altogether.

A Labour MP who was suspended for using the phrase “between the river and the sea” has had the whip restored after an internal investigation found he had “not engaged in conduct that was against the party’s rulebook”, Zoe Grunewald reports.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The chief whip has today restored the Labour whip to Andy McDonald MP. This follows a full investigation by the Labour Party into complaints received about public remarks that he made in October 2023.

“The investigation concluded that he had not engaged in conduct that was against the party’s rulebook but reminded him of the importance of elected representatives being mindful, not only of what they say in public, but how their words may be interpreted, especially in reference to controversial or emotive issues.”

A former Tory chairman has said it is an “open and shut case” that the Conservative Party should pay the £10m donation back to Frank Hester over “racist” comments, Archie Mitchell reports.

Chris Patten also told Times Radio the party shouldn’t risk its reputation for “being, open and diverse” in order to hang onto such a large donation.

He said: “I heard during different broadcasts yesterday, members of the government saying different things. They said it was wrong. Why was it wrong? Well eventually they agreed it was wrong because it was racist. So if he’s made remarks which are racist, how can you in a reasonable way take 10 million smackers of his money.

“It seems to me that it’s pretty open and shut, as people like Andy Street and others have said. So I think, the sooner this is brought to an end the better. And as soon as, this donor’s bank account has got another 10 million in it, which he probably doesn’t need, the better.”

He added: “I think when something blows like this, it does seem to me to be fairly open and shut and you know, the Conservative Party doesn’t need 10 million that badly. It certainly doesn’t want to risk its reputation for being, open and diverse, in order to have a large donation.”

“The prime minister was bounced into it by Kemi Badenoch, his business secretary and equalities minister, who spotted an opening to do the right thing. The approach of Prime Minister’s Questions today will also have concentrated sluggish minds in Downing Street.”

Read Andrew’s piece in full here:

Labour is warning that the Conservative pledge to abolish national insurance is a “serious threat to pensioners” and puts the state pension at risk, Archie Mitchell reports.

The party’s attack dog Jonathan Ashworth gave a briefing to journalists to say getting rid of the levy would leave pensioners paying more in income taxes.

Mr Ashworth, the shadow paymaster general, said the Tories have “serious questions to answer” over Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt’s plan – announced after last Wednesday’s Budget.

He said: “We believe there was a sheer lack of clarity as to how the Conservatives expect to meet this commitment and how they will fund it.”

Mr Ashworth said the £46bn promise was a bigger unfunded tax cut than Liz Truss made during her infamous mini-budget that sent financial markets into a spin.

And he said it would leave the future of the state pension at risk, which chancellor Mr Hunt has denied.

Mr Ashworth said: “The future of the state pension is on the ballot paper at the next general election.

“The Tories’ £46 billion unfunded tax plan to abolish national insurance can only lead to higher borrowing, higher taxes on pensioners or the end of the state pension as we know it.

“Ministers need to come clean with the British people and start answering these basic questions.”

The Scottish Conservatives have broken ranks with Rishi Sunak and the UK Conservative party and demanded a review into Frank Hester’s £10m donation, Zoe Grunewald reports.

In a statement released to the media, the Scottish Tories said Mr Hester’s comments were “racist and wrong”.

They added: “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.”