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Rishi Sunak on Thursday (14 March) reiterated that Frank Hester’s apology over alleged comments made about MP Diane Abbott should be accepted when challenged over whether the Conservatives will return the donor’s money.“What he said was wrong and racist. I made that clear,” the prime minister said, when asked whether the cash will be handed back if it has not been spent during a visit to Gloucestershire Rugby Club.“It’s right that he’s apologised for that. And where remorse is shown, I think that should be accepted.”Pressed again on returning the money, Mr Sunak added: “When someone has expressed genuine remorse or contrition for what they’ve done, which he has, it’s the right thing to do to accept that.” More

Michael Gove refused repeatedly when asked if a Tory donor’s alleged comments calling for an MP to be “shot” would be deemed extremist under the government’s new task force.Businessman Frank Hester is alleged to have said that Diane Abbott, Britain’s first black female MP, made him “want to hate all black women” and that she “should be shot”, in comments the Prime Minister described as “racist” after initially refusing to do so.Appearing on BBC Breakfast on Thursday (14 March), presenter Naga Munchetty asked Mr Gove repeatedly if the alleged comments would be deemed extremist. More

Diane Abbott stood up 46 times during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, 13 March, but was ultimately denied the chance to speak after reporting a Tory donor to the police.The MP filed a complaint with the Metropolitan Police’s parliamentary liaison and investigations team after Frank Hester, who donated £10m to the Conservatives in 2023, was alleged to have said she “should be shot”.Mr Hester admitted making “rude” comments about Ms Abbott but said they had “nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”. More

Activists have erected hundreds of cemetery “headstones” made from insulation boards outside parliament to warn a failure to tackle cold homes is costing thousands of lives.Greenpeace estimates more than 70,000 excess winter deaths in the UK were linked to living in cold, damp housing conditions in the decade since the coalition government slashed support for home insulation measures.In a protest at what it described as the “needless and shocking” deaths from living in cold homes, the green group installed headstones in Victoria Tower Gardens and an eight-metre-long funeral wreath reading “cold homes cost lives”. More

Sir Keir Starmer took a swipe at Rishi Sunak in PMQs today (13 March), saying he cannot trick people into believing in the “completely unfunded £46bn” Labour said plans to abolish national insurance contributions would cost.The opposition leader continued by saying that “shaking the Tory magic money tree” will not bring the promise into existence.Punctuating his jab at the government’s new plan to cut taxes in the spring Budget introduced last week, Sir Keir asked the prime minister how the money will be found: “So it’s either cutting pensions or the NHS, or he will have to raise other taxes or borrowing. Which is it prime minister?” More

Rishi Sunak said he would not return a £15,000 donation from Frank Hester that funded a helicopter trip as a row over the Tory donor’s alleged comments about Diane Abbott continued.At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (13 March), the prime minister said: “No… I am pleased [Mr Hester] is supporting a party that represents one of the most diverse governments in this country’s history.”Mr Hester, who donated £10m to the Tories last year, allegedly made comments about the MP including that she made him “want to hate all Black women”.A statement from Mr Hester’s firm said he “accepts that he was rude about Diane Abbott… but his criticism had nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin.” More

Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis said he does not want the foreign aid budget “to exist at all” after it was revealed £3.2 billion has been allocated to the Home Office to house migrants in hotels.Appearing on BBC Politics Live today (13 March), Mr Gullis and Labour MP Sarah Champion joined the panel to discuss whether migrants should be paid to go to Rwanda.Ms Champion said: “I can announce £3.2 billion of UK foreign aid has been allocated to the Home office, for hotels for the next financial year.”Mr Gullis replied: “I don’t want the foreign aid budget to exist at all.” More

Rishi Sunak claimed Sir Keir Starmer “let antisemitism run rife’ in the Labour Party during a heated Prime Minister’s Questions today (13 March).Discussing alleged racist comments made about Labour MP Diane Abbott by top Tory donor Frank Hester, Sir Keir asked Mr Sunak: “What does the Prime Minister think it was about the hundreds of millions of pounds of NHS contracts given to Frank Hester by his Government that first attracted him to giving £10 million to the Tory Party in the first place?”Mr Sunak said he was “absolutely not going to take any lectures” from Sir Keir who he said “chose to serve a leader who let antisemitism run rife in his Labour Party”. More