Tory chair won't say if party took £5m more from disgraced donor
The Guardian|May 01, 2024
The Conservative party chair, Richard Holden, repeatedly refused to say yesterday whether the party had continued to take millions from its biggest donor, Frank Hester, after it was revealed that the businessman had made comments condemned as racist and misogynistic.
Rowena Mason
Tory chair won't say if party took £5m more from disgraced donor

Holden said he could not comment on whether the Tories had recently accepted £5m, after it emerged that Hester told colleagues in 2019 that looking at Diane Abbott made you "want to hate all black women" and said she "should be shot".

Hester gave £10m to the party last year, making him its biggest funderin the run-up to the next election.

Asked on the BBC's Politics Live whether a further £5m had been donated, Holden four times refused to say but added that he was "comfortable about accepting money when people have been clear about their views".

He said: "Mr Hester apologised fully for his comments at the time and I think if people have apologised then we should accept that, when they've clearly made a major contrition. I can't comment on individual donations. It would be inappropriate."

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 01, 2024 من The Guardian.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 01, 2024 من The Guardian.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من THE GUARDIAN مشاهدة الكل
Swiatek strolls into quarter-finals after punishing Potapova
The Guardian

Swiatek strolls into quarter-finals after punishing Potapova

After an opening week defined by Iga Swiatek's grit, as she saved match point and recovered from the brink of defeat against a resurgent Naomi Osaka in her second-round match, the Pole's bakery reopened with ruthless efficiency yesterday as the best player in the world demolished Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0 to return to the French Open quarter-finals.

time-read
3 mins  |
June 03, 2024
Freewheeling Jones clobbers Canada in debut win for USA
The Guardian

Freewheeling Jones clobbers Canada in debut win for USA

Build it, and they will come.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 03, 2024
Union steps up action at Tata steelworks in south Wales
The Guardian

Union steps up action at Tata steelworks in south Wales

Union leaders are preparing to increase industrial action at two south Wales steelworks, in a further escalation of a row over almost 3,000 job losses that threatens to become a big general election issue.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 03, 2024
Ex-president hails support of Republican party since trial
The Guardian

Ex-president hails support of Republican party since trial

Donald Trump lauded the Republican party yesterday for rallying behind him after his conviction on 34 felony charges in a hush-money case aimed at influencing the 2016 election.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 03, 2024
Commercial trucks choking off critical supplies, say NGOs
The Guardian

Commercial trucks choking off critical supplies, say NGOs

Aid shipments into southern Gaza are being squeezed out by commercial convoys, humanitarian organisations say, at a time when Israel's military push into Rafah has choked off supply routes critical to feeding hundreds of thousands of people.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 03, 2024
Legal fund helping Russians abroad is exposed as Kremlin influence operation
The Guardian

Legal fund helping Russians abroad is exposed as Kremlin influence operation

Leaked documents have exposed the activities of a Russian state-backed legal defence foundation that European intelligence agencies and analysts say is a Kremlin influence operation active in 48 countries.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 03, 2024
ANC on lookout for coalition partners after losing overall majority for the first time
The Guardian

ANC on lookout for coalition partners after losing overall majority for the first time

Final results from last week's South African elections were released yesterday, confirming that the African National Congress party had lost its majority for the first time in 30 years and firing the starting gun on unprecedented coalition talks.

time-read
3 mins  |
June 03, 2024
Fears of cultural crisis in Edinburgh as fringe venue is put up for sale
The Guardian

Fears of cultural crisis in Edinburgh as fringe venue is put up for sale

Senior figures in the arts have warned that Edinburgh faces a cultural crisis after it emerged that one of the city's most famous venues, Summerhall, has been put up for sale.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 03, 2024
Rise in patients treated in corridors a 'national emergency', say nurses
The Guardian

Rise in patients treated in corridors a 'national emergency', say nurses

Overcrowding is forcing hospitals to treat so many patients in corridors and storerooms that it constitutes a \"national emergency\", the UK's nursing union will warn today.

time-read
3 mins  |
June 03, 2024
"They will not silence his voice' Grief and defiance as journalist's widow visits the site of his death
The Guardian

"They will not silence his voice' Grief and defiance as journalist's widow visits the site of his death

Alessandra Sampaio fell to her knees and wept as she clambered on to the boat's deck and came face to face with the remote riverside clearing where her husband's life was extinguished and hers was turned upside down.

time-read
4 mins  |
June 03, 2024