The plot to shoot Diane Abbot dominated PMQs. The Tory donor, Frank Hester, reportedly said that the MP for Hackney North inspired violent thoughts in him, and made him want to ‘hate all black women.’ Sir Keir Starmer asked if Rishi Sunak was happy to be bankrolled by someone who harboured fantasies about gunshots and bullet wounds.
Rishi replied in kind and trotted out insults like ‘scum’ and ‘Nazi’ that have been hurled at the Tories by Labour members over the years. He pleaded for tolerance towards his financial backer. ‘He has rightly apologised. And that remorse should be accepted.’
Rishi could perhaps offer Hester a jaunt in a navy Chinook – but they’re probably all being repaired
Sir Keir answered Rishi’s point by insisting that the Labour movement had been transformed under his leadership. ‘He’s describing a Labour party that no longer exists,’ he said. A strange comment that might have exposed him to ridicule in different circumstances.
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