Key health figures call for NHS to cut ties with Tory donor Frank Hester

Hester, who made comments widely condemned as racist, has seen his firm TPP paid over £400m by NHS and other state bodies since 2016

The Conservative party’s largest donor, Frank Hester, is facing calls from within the NHS to cut ties with his company after the Guardian revealed comments he made about Diane Abbott that have been widely condemned as racist.

At a meeting in 2019, Hester said seeing Abbott on TV made him “want to hate all black women” and that “she should be shot”. Hester has apologised for the remarks but denied they were motivated by race or gender.