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Rishi Sunak accepted an additional £5m from Tory donor Frank Hester, who was accused of saying Diane Abbott “should be shot”, Electoral Commission figures show.
The prime minister accepted the donation in January after Mr Hester donated £10m to the Conservative Party last year.
Mr Hester allegedly told colleagues that looking at Ms Abbott makes you “want to hate all black women”, adding that the veteran Labour MP “should be shot”.
Ms Abbott said the further donation was “an insult to me and all black women”.
The Labour stalwart wrote on X: “Rishi Sunak belatedly admitted Frank Hester’s remarks that ‘I made him hate all black woman and should be shot’ were racist. Now it turns out Sunak accepted a further £5 million from him.
“An insult to me and all black women.”
Mr Hester, founder and chief executive of The Phoenix Partnership (TPP), made the comments at a 2019 meeting at the firm’s headquarters, according to a Guardian investigation.
Discussing a female executive from another company, he reportedly said: “She’s s***. She’s the s***test person. Honestly I try not to be sexist but when I meet somebody like [the executive], I just …
“It’s like trying not to be racist but you see Diane Abbott on the TV, and you’re just like I hate, you just want to hate all black women because she’s there, and I don’t hate all black women at all, but I think she should be shot.
“[The executive] and Diane Abbott need to be shot. She’s stupid … If we can get [the executive] being unprofessional we can get her sacked. It’s not as good as her dying. It would be much better if she died. She’s consuming resource. She’s eating food that other people could eat. You know?”
Labour described Mr Hester’s reported comments as racist.
But he has said he abhors racism as a “poison that has no place in public life”.
Mr Hester said: “The UK benefits immensely from the rich diversity of people – like my parents – who had roots in another land, religion and culture. We should celebrate those differences which have made us the world’s most successful multi-ethnic, multi-faith democracy.
“And we should have the confidence to discuss our differences openly and even playfully without seeking to cause offence.”
The Liberal Democrat said the Conservatives are “proudly funded by a man who made the most appalling racist and sexist comments”.
“How low can Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives go?” deputy leader Daisy Cooper added.
She said: “Ultimately the buck stops with Rishi Sunak. Sunak must personally intervene and make sure not a penny of this money is spent.
“No amount of tainted funding will stop the threat the Liberal Democrats pose to the Conservatives in many seats across the country.”
