Diane Abbott says Tory donor Frank Hester’s comments are ‘frightening’

Sign up for the View from Westminster e mail for knowledgeable evaluation straight to your inbox

Get our free View from Westminster e mail

Diane Abbott has stated remarks allegedly made by a prime Tory donor that she made him “want to hate all black women” are “frightening”.

In an announcement issued over the row on Tuesday morning, Britain’s longest-serving black MP stated: “It is frightening. I live in Hackney, I don’t drive, so I find myself, at weekends, popping on a bus or even walking places, more than most MPs.

“I am a single woman and that makes me vulnerable anyway. But to hear someone talking like this is worrying.”

She added: “For all of my career as an MP I have thought it important not to live in a bubble, but to mix and mingle with ordinary people. The fact that two MPs have been murdered in recent years makes talk like this all the more alarming.

“I’m currently not a member of the parliamentary Labour party, but remain a member of the Labour party itself, so I am hoping for public support from Keir Starmer.”

More to comply with….