Sunak refuses to reimburse Frank Hester for £15,000 helicopter ride donation

Rishi Sunak said he would not return a £15,000 donation from Frank Hester that funded a helicopter trip as a row over the Tory donor's alleged comments about Diane Abbott continued.

At Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday (13 March), the prime minister said: "No... I am pleased [Mr Hester] is supporting a party that represents one of the most diverse governments in this country’s history."

Mr Hester, who donated £10m to the Tories last year, allegedly made comments about the MP including that she made him “want to hate all Black women”.

A statement from Mr Hester’s firm said he “accepts that he was rude about Diane Abbott... but his criticism had nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin.”