PA
The Conservative Party has accepted another £5 million from Frank Hester, the businessman accused of saying Labour’s Diane Abbott “should be shot”, new figures show.
Electoral Commission data released on Thursday showed the payments from Mr Hester’s healthcare software firm, the Phoenix Partnership, in January, before he became embroiled in a row over the alleged racist comments.
He also handed the Tories £10 million last year, taking the total from the party’s biggest donor to £15 million.
Responding to news, Good Law Project said the party was without shame and would sell influence to anyone.
Jo Maugham, Director of Good Law Project, commented: “To take a further £5 million from Frank Hester, who has made appalling, violent, racist comments, marks the Conservative Party as without shame. The Tories will unabashedly sell influence to anyone.
“Whilst Frank Hester funds helicopter rides for the prime minister and boasts of their cosy chats, Rishi Sunak refuses to reveal how much influence his millions have secured. It is time he came clean on the nature of their relationship.”
Good Law Project has requested the details of Rishi Sunak’s meetings and interactions with Frank Hester. However, Downing Street said it had no ‘official information’ on any of them. And nothing has ever been disclosed in the prime minister’s lists of meetings and visits.
Hester has been more forthcoming about his relationship with the prime minister. He said he had been having “long conversations” with the prime minister on AI, while the Guardian reported that he gave Sunak a private tour of The Phoenix Partnership’s headquarters in November.
Last year, Good Law Project revealed that Sunak took a £16,000 Hester-funded helicopter ride to a political event in Leeds.
Under the Ministerial Code, the prime minister is required to disclose any meetings he has with external individuals or organisations. However, Sunak could avoid officially declaring any of his interactions with Hester if he labels them as ‘personal’ or ‘political’ meetings.
Hester made headlines earlier this year when the Guardian exposed his violent and racist comments about Diane Abbott. It also revealed that his healthtech company, The Phoenix Partnership, has been paid more than £400 million by the NHS and other government bodies since 2016.
Last year, Good Law Project found with the Guardian that many of these contracts were awarded in secret.
Records published by the Electoral Commission today show that, in the first quarter of 2024, the Conservative Party accepted more than £5 million of additional donations from Frank Hester, made through his company The Phoenix Partnership.
Hester’s latest £5 million bung takes his donations to the Tories to over £15 million, which cements his status as their biggest donor.
Related: Tories accept another £5m from donor Frank Hester in racism row
