Minister calls Tory donor Frank Hester’s Diane Abbott comments ‘completely unacceptable’ but refuses to go further – UK politics live

Energy minister Graham Stuart said Hester’s comments were ‘absolutely unacceptable’ but does not accept Tories should return his £10m donation

• Black Britons feel hurt by Hester attack on Diane Abbott, says ex-Tory adviser
• Biggest Tory donor said looking at Diane Abbott makes you ‘want to hate all black women’

Good morning. Graham Stuart, the energy minister, has had the job of being the government’s all-purpose spokesperson this morning. He was doing the interview round to discuss an announcement about building new gas-fired power stations, but inevitably he has faced questions about the Guardian’s splash about Frank Hester, the biggest donor to the Conservative party.

To recap: the Guardian reports that at a meeting at his firm’s HQ in 2019 Hester spoke about an executive from another organisation, saying:

She’s shit. She’s the shittest person. Honestly I try not to be sexist but when I meet somebody like [the executive], I just …

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.