Stefan Rousseau/PA
If Laura Kuenssberg has got you under the grill, then perhaps it’s fair to say that the interview hasn’t gone your way. James Cleverly was pressed, several times, to give a direct response on whether he’d accept a donation from Frank Hester, if he were elected to lead the Tories.
However, Mr. Cleverly dodged and avoided the question that was put to him several times over. Instead, he deflected, and slammed Labour for allegedly ‘giving access’ to some of their donors and allowing them to ‘run free’ through the halls of Downing Street.
Frank Hester is the biggest donor to the Conservative Party, but he became a figure of infamy earlier this year when a series of his racist remarks were made public. The multi-millionaire said he wanted to ‘shoot Diane Abbott’, and that she made him want to ‘hate all black people’.
Electoral Commission records, published this week, show that the party accepted another £5 million from Hester’s Leeds-based healthcare software company, The Phoenix Partnership (TPP), on 17th May – just days before the general election was called.
The donation follows £5 million accepted in January, and £10 million donated to the party last year, totalling more than £20 million since the start of 2023. He also gifted Rishi Sunak the use of a helicopter for a political visit in November last year, valued at £15,900.
Faced with these awkward facts, James Cleverly opted to duck and dive for the best part of three minutes. Cleverly, who still harbours ambitions to replace Sunak as the leader of the Conservatives, did not clarify if he would or would not accept more of Frank Hester’s money.
“He apologised… He donated to the Conservatives protect the country from Labour… I’ve not had any discussions with Frank Hester about the future. What he said was unacceptable, but the point is, we are now seeing Labour reward their own donors with access and pay-rises.”
“Whether he is a donor in the future, I don’t know. Unlike Keir Starmer’s donors, Frank Hester was never given a pass to 10 Downing Street. That’s the point. What he said was inappropriate, but the Labour Party are now paying back their privileged backers.” | James Cleverly
