Diane Abbott has criticised Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle over his failure to call her during Prime Minister’s Questions despite the fact it was dominated by a row over comments a Tory donor allegedly made about her.
The former Labour MP was in the Commons chamber as Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer, and Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s Westminster leader, debated the row involving Frank Hester, who is reported to have said that Ms Abbott made him “want to hate all black women” and that she “should be shot”.
However, despite rising in her seat and trying to catch the Speaker’s eye throughout the session, Ms Abbott – who has said the comments have put her in a “frightening” position – was not invited to speak.
In a post on X, Ms Abbott wrote: “I don’t know whose interests the Speaker thinks he is serving. But it is not the interests of the Commons or democracy.”
A number of MPs have raised the incident, with Labour MP Stella Creasy writing on X at the time: “Right now Diane Abbott is standing to ask a question in prime minister’s questions. As her safety is debated by others. Something very wrong if her voice isn’t heard today…”
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And Rosie Duffield, the Labour MP for Canterbury, said it was “extremely uncomfortable to witness” and added: “While others were speaking about her, Diane Abbott was not selected to speak herself, why?”
A spokesperson for Sir Lindsay said: “During Prime Minister’s Questions, the Speaker must select MPs from either side of the House on an alternating basis for fairness.
“This takes place within a limited time frame, with the chair prioritising members who are already listed on the order paper. This week – as is often the case – there was not enough time to call all Members who wanted to ask a question.”
The row over Mr Hester dominated today’s session, with the Labour leader attacking the prime minister for being “bankrolled” by the businessman, who is the chief executive of the healthcare software firm The Phoenix Partnership.
Mr Hester has donated £10m to the Conservatives since the 2019 election either through individual means or via his firm.
Mr Sunak has come under increasing pressure to return the funds to Mr Hester and his healthcare software firm had gifted the Tories – something the prime minister appeared to rule out.
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After his remarks were first reported in the Guardian, the businessman said he was “deeply sorry”, but insisted they had “nothing to do with [Ms Abbott’s] gender nor colour of skin”.
During the terse session, Mr Sunak echoed his statement from Tuesday night, calling the businessman’s alleged remarks “racist” and saying there was “no place for racism in Britain”.
But he said Mr Hester had “apologised genuinely for his comments and that remorse should be accepted” and accused Sir Keir of supporting former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who he said “let antisemitism run rife” during his tenure.
Sir Keir replied: “The difference is he is scared of his party. I have changed my party.”
Mr Flynn also accused Mr Sunak of “putting money before morals”, adding: “This is complete rubbish. [Mr Hester] apologised for being rude.
“He wasn’t rude. He was racist, he was odious and he was downright bloody dangerous.”
The Scottish Conservatives broke ranks shortly after PMQs to call on the government to “carefully review the donations” in light of Mr Hester’s alleged comments, which they said were “racist and wrong”.
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Both Sir Keir and Mr Flynn were seen approaching Ms Abbott and speaking to her in the Commons after PMQs concluded.
Ms Abbott later retweeted a claim that in the conversation with the Labour leader, she had asked for the whip to be restored, having been suspended last year after suggesting Jewish, Irish and Traveller people did not face racism – something she later apologised for.
