Frank Hester arranged for Rishi Sunak to be transported to Leeds for a personal visit to the businessman’s offices the day after the autumn statement in 2019. This has sparked concerns about the level of access given to this £10m donor who is funding the Conservative Party’s election campaign.
The attention is now on Sunak’s connection with Hester following a recent report by the Guardian. The report revealed that the major donor made discriminatory remarks about Diane Abbott, which have been strongly criticized for their racism and sexism.
Sunak initially refused to provide a statement regarding Hester’s 2019 statements, where he claimed that seeing Diane Abbott makes one feel like “hating all black women” and that she “deserves to be shot”. However, facing criticism, the prime minister’s representative spoke out, denouncing the remarks as “racist and incorrect”.
New information has revealed that the prime minister made a visit to Hester’s healthcare IT company in north-west Leeds on November 23rd. The businessman covered the £16,000 travel expenses for the helicopter.
Roughly three weeks after Hester’s company, the Phoenix Partnership (TPP), donated a second installment of £5m to the Conservative party in November, the trip was made. Hester himself had previously donated £5m in May of the same year, and there is potential for a further £5m to be donated.
Sunak was photographed during a “political visit” in Farsley, North-West Leeds, where he was creating jewelry at a workshop that morning. No 10 has declined to provide further information about whether Sunak had a meeting with Hester afterwards.
According to sources, Sunak and his group visited TPP’s offices in Horsforth, located in outer Leeds, in the late afternoon. Attendees were instructed to keep the visit confidential. The visit lasted approximately one hour.
The Labour party is demanding clear information on the number of meetings between Sunak and Hester, as well as clarification on any policy matters that were discussed. Anneliese Dodds, chair of the party, stated that Hester’s offensive comments were blatantly racist and sexist, and that it is unacceptable for Sunak to continue benefiting from Hester’s funds. Dodds also raised concerns about Sunak’s close ties with Hester and called for accountability.
The prime minister needs to promptly clarify the topics that were discussed, including the status of Hester’s 60 million patient records contract and government AI policy. Additionally, Rishi Sunak should show leadership by repaying the money, severing ties, and addressing the extremist views within his party.
The contributor also participated in a gathering at Lancaster House where Sunak engaged in discussions about AI with billionaire Elon Musk in November. They were also present at two fundraising events organized by Sunak in London in June of last year and February of the current year.
Hester, who is involved in IT business, has discussed artificial intelligence with Rishi in previous interviews with the Telegraph.
Ever since the publication of Hester’s remarks on Abbott on Monday, the leader of the country has been receiving demands, even from members of his own party, to return the sum of £10 million in donations.
Following the publication of his comments, Hester issued a statement acknowledging that he had been impolite about Diane Abbott during a past private meeting. However, he clarified that his criticism was unrelated to her gender or race.
According to the statement, Hester strongly detested racism, particularly due to personal experience as a child of Irish immigrants during the 1970s.
The spokesperson stated that Hester has tried to personally apologize to Diane Abbott twice today for the harm he has caused her. He also wants to clarify that he condemns racism and believes it has no place in politics. The party’s spokesperson also mentioned that Hester is currently the largest donor the party has ever had.
The entrepreneur from the English county of West Yorkshire is the exclusive proprietor of TPP. The company has received over £400 million in payments from the National Health Service (NHS) and other governmental organizations since 2016. Its main role is to manage the medical records of 60 million individuals in the United Kingdom. Over the course of four years, the businessman has made a profit of £135 million from contracts with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
At the same time, there will be increased pressure for Labour to reinstate the whip to Abbott and wrap up an 11-month investigation into her remarks in a letter sent to the Observer in April of last year.
Abbott’s letter stated that individuals from the Jewish, Irish, and Traveller communities do not face racism throughout their entire lives. Despite Abbott’s prompt apology, the party responded by revoking her position and launching a investigation, which has yet to be completed and reported.
According to The Observer, there have been multiple instances at Labour’s National Executive Committee meetings where members have expressed worries about the length of the investigation, believing it to be taking too much time. More and more Labour MPs are now calling for Abbott to have the party’s support reinstated.
A Labour MP will raise the matter during a meeting with the parliamentary Labour party at Westminster on Monday. According to high-ranking party members, it was suggested that Abbott could have her whip reinstated if she completed antisemitism training. However, Abbott has denied these claims, deeming them false.
Abbott told the Observer: “The Labour party has repeatedly made two claims. One is that they are investigating my case, almost a year later. The other is that it is an independent process, without political interference.
“Both claims are clearly false when they are now saying a deal was on offer, which I am blocking. These latest claims are factually incorrect in every key respect. They are a cackhanded attempt to shift the blame for the mess of their own blatantly rigged process.”
Requests for comment from both Downing Street and TPP have not been answered.
Source: theguardian.com
