The biggest donor to the Conservative Party is reported to have said seeing former Labour MP Dianne Abbot made him "want to hate all black women" and that she should be shot.
Frank Hester, who has given £10m to the party in the past year, made the controversial comments in a meeting at his healthcare technology firm The Phoenix Partnership, according to The Guardian.
Speaking about an unnamed executive from another company in a meeting, Mr Hester is alleged to have said: "She’s shit. She’s the shittest person. Honestly I try not to be sexist but when I meet somebody like [the executive].
"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.
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“[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?”
Ms Abbot is currently suspended by the Labour Party as it carries out an investigation into the Hackney and Stoke North Newington MP's comments Jewish, Irish and Traveller people were not subject to racism “all their lives”.
The newspaper further reports that Mr Hester called all "foreign" employees to a 2019 meeting to defend himself against online reviews, alleged to be from former staff, accusing him of racist comments.
In that meeting, he is alleged to have said: “I make a lot of jokes about racism, about our different creeds and cultures. But I just want to assure you that it is just the most abhorrent thing.
“I want to clear the air and make sure we all know where we are, what we stand for, and we take the piss out of the fact that all our Chinese girls sit together in Asian corner, which they do.”
A TPP spokesperson said: “As the safe and trusted custodians of 80m medical records in the UK and around the world, we always hire the best people for the job, regardless of race, gender, sexuality or any other characteristic.
“We take care of our people and celebrate diversity in our workplace. We reward our staff well, encouraging them to work collaboratively, to take ownership of their responsibilities, and to demonstrate the commitment and professionalism that the NHS, patients and our customers around the world deserve.
“Having recently witnessed the tragic consequences that can be caused when software systems of major public services fail, we are proud to demand the highest standards of our staff to ensure we can continue to safely and reliably support our health service.”
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