In 1953, Diane Abbott was born just eleven days before me. In 1987, she became Britain's first ever black female Member of Parliament, representing the London constituency of Hackney North for the Labour Party. Like Frank Hester, I have never met Diane Abbott in person though from afar I have admired her tenacity and her willingness to fight for worthy causes.
Who is Frank Hester you may be asking. Well he is a wealthy tech-savvy businessman specialising in servicing our National Health Service. The ruling Tory or Conservative party have awarded him several lucrative contracts and he in turn has donated millions of pounds to The Tory Party. If that sounds dodgy then it probably is. A large slice of his wealth came from contracts awarded during the COVID pandemic.
At a work meeting held in 2019, it appears that Hester, the Tories' biggest donor said that looking at Abbott makes you “want to hate all black women” and then added the MP “should be shot”. Hester does not deny making these vile remarks.
Questioned very recently about this episode, Hester said he “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”.
Nothing to do with her gender nor the colour of her skin? That is ridiculous! He used the word "women" and the word "black" and now he tries to water it down by saying he was just being "rude"!
It took over twenty four hours for our current prime minister to admit, through a spokesperson, that Hester's comment was both racist and sexist but nothing was made of the sinister add-on that she "should be shot".
Furthermore, this year Hester donated £15 million to The Tories and they have refused to return it. So that's okay then - fighting a general election with dirty money! In addition, it is worth noting that our current prime minister has also enjoyed some free flights in Hester's helicopter.
This all stinks and it is more than unfair on Diane Abbott. The remarks are downright dangerous. A lily-livered apology cannot negate what Hester said in the first place. That would be like Putin apologising for what he has done to Ukraine. Hollow. Bizarrely, the Tories gave arrogant Hester a richly unmerited medal in 2015 - the O.B.E. (Order of the British Empire) - presumably for services to his own bank account.
I hope these scams don't happen very often. we are too afraid to throw the bums out so they get away with things.
ReplyDeleteBehind the scenes there are plenty of shenanigans.
DeleteFrom this I deduce the Tories are NOT to be voted for? So who is the other party?
ReplyDeleteLabour. The only party I have ever voted for.
DeleteThings like that render one speechless, but sadly, they are not a one-off occurrence.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I hear about something like that, I wonder what the person dishing out their remarks would say eye-to-eye in a calm conversation with the other person. Would they realise they were talking to (or about) a fellow human being? Or would they kept their mind shut to reality and remain mentally locked in?
I fear the latter; the people who mass-murder(ed) others in the past and present for their ethnicity, belief, colour of skin or whatever other reason often look(ed) their victims in the eyes and are/were still convinced that they are less than animals.
I think of Gaza and the women and children and innocent men whose lives have been cruelly extinguished.
DeleteHester sounds like such a charmer. Now I see lots of quacking ducks, and I'm sure they are ducks. It almost looks like overt corruption, not that my own country is devoid of such obvious donations.
ReplyDeleteI expect our friend who now lives back in Australia would know Abbott from her days of working in public housing development at Hackney Wick.
I guess your friend will indeed remember Diane Abbott.
DeleteA vile human being who should have been dragged out of Parliament.
ReplyDeletePoliticians should be very careful about who they invite to lie in their beds.
DeleteWe have a few more like him, disgusting.
ReplyDeleteSomeone like him should respect someone like Diane Abbott but for him it is probably all about the money.
DeleteIf Hester ever wants to move to the US he could obviously become a very respected member of the Republican party machinations here.
ReplyDeleteHe seems to have all the qualities required to be of significance within GOP.
DeleteWe have lots of jerks like that here - just trying to stay in power by putting down others. It's pathetic and frightening at the same time.
ReplyDeleteOf course The Big Orange Jerk has led the way.
DeleteUnfortunately, Diane Abbott made ill-advised comments of her own, which after a year are still causing controversy in the Labour Party, and have not been resolved. A different issue, but they ought to bloody well get it sorted out.
ReplyDeleteWhat she said was clumsy though probably true. However, sometimes it is best to keep your mouth zipped. I agree that that situation has gone on far too long.
DeleteDiane uses public transport . Good on her for that.
ReplyDeleteHow despicable and utterly vile! Frank Hester's comments about Diane Abbott are not only racist and sexist but also dangerously threatening. It's appalling that he would make such reprehensible remarks and then try to downplay them as mere rudeness. And for the Tories to accept his tainted money and refuse to return it is a blatant display of their moral bankruptcy. Diane Abbott deserves better than this cowardly behavior. Shame on Hester and shame on the Tory Party for condoning his actions.
ReplyDeleteRead my new blog post: https://www.melodyjacob.com/2024/03/the-leading-industries-causing-health-damage-to-young-people.html
Unfortunately, politics is dirty. Always has been, always will be.
ReplyDelete