A WEST Yorkshire businessman and major Conservative Party donor has said he is "deeply sorry" - after reportedly saying former Labour MP Diane Abbott made him "want to hate all black women" and that she "should be shot".
Frank Hester, chief executive of Horsforth-based The Phoenix Partnership (TPP), has admitted making "rude" comments, which were first reported by The Guardian, but said they had "nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin".
The Guardian reported that Mr Hester's remarks about Ms Abbott were made in 2019, meaning that they likely occurred when she was Shadow Home Secretary under ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The newspaper reported that during a meeting at his company headquarters, Mr Hester, having previously criticised an executive at another organisation, went on to discuss Ms Abbott, the first black woman elected to Parliament.
Mr Hester, who gave the Conservatives £10million last year, reportedly said: "It's like trying not to be racist but you see Diane Abbott on the TV, and you're just like… 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.
"(The executive) and Diane Abbott need to be shot."
In a statement released via his firm, Mr Hester said he had phoned Ms Abbott to "apologise directly for the hurt he has caused her".
The statement said: "Frank Hester accepts that he was rude about Diane Abbott in a private meeting several years ago but his criticism had nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin.
"The Guardian is right when it quotes Frank saying he abhors racism, not least because he experienced it as the child of Irish immigrants in the 1970s.
"He rang Diane Abbott twice today to try to apologise directly for the hurt he has caused her, and is deeply sorry for his remarks.
"He wishes to make it clear that he regards racism as a poison which has no place in public life."
Ms Abbott described the reported comments as "frightening".
West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin described the reported comments as "dangerous and disgusting" and added: "They have no place in a professional environment nor our politics.
"In West Yorkshire diversity is our strength and we are better than this."
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