Kemi Badenoch, the Business Secretary, has publicly condemned comments made by Tory donor Frank Hester about MP Diane Abbott. Hester, who has donated £10m to the Conservative Party, allegedly said that Abbott “should be shot” and that she made him “want to hate all black women”. Hester apologised for his comments, claiming that they “had nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”. Despite this, Badenoch called Hester’s remarks racist, making her the highest-ranking government official to do so.
Badenoch, who is also the equalities minister, later took to social media to voice her opinion on the matter, stating that “it’s never acceptable to conflate someone’s views with the colour of their skin”. Labour party chair Anneliese Dodds echoed this sentiment, describing Hester’s comments as “clearly, unequivocally racist and sexist”. Earlier, health minister Maria Caulfield also weighed in on the controversy, saying that she would not accept a donation from Hester if he had indeed made the comments attributed to him.
Abbott responded to the allegations, saying that she found them “frightening”. She is currently suspended from sitting as a Labour MP. Downing Street issued a statement calling Hester’s comments “unacceptable”, without elaborating further on why they were objectionable. The BBC has not been able to verify the remarks independently, as it has not heard a recording of them.
The incident highlights the ongoing problem of racist and sexist language and attitudes in modern politics. Despite progress in some areas, there is clearly still work to be done to ensure that people of all backgrounds are treated with respect and dignity. As Badenoch said, there must be “space for forgiveness”, but this can only be achieved if individuals take responsibility for the harm they have caused and show a genuine willingness to change their behaviour
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