Scotland's first minister Humza Yousaf hit out at the Conservative Party for being "institutionally Islamophobic", according to media reports.
He said this in reaction to the comments reportedly made by Conservative party donor Frank Hester (57) about Labour MP Diane Abbott.
According to The Guardian newspaper, Hester had reportedly said in 2019 that Abbott, Britain's longest-serving black MP, made him "want to hate all black women" and "she should be shot".
Hester, who heads a software company The Phoenix Partnership, said this during a meeting at his company’s headquarters.
Yousaf said the comments from Hester are racist, sexist, and incite hatred.
He said, "The Conservative Party is not just riddled with Islamophobia, but institutionally Islamophobic."
Yousaf said if the Conservative Party had any morals they ought to have returned every single penny to Hester.
The software entrepreneur has donated more than £10 million to the Tories and paid £15,000 for Sunak to take a helicopter trip late last year.
Hester has admitted making “rude” comments about Abbott, but claimed that they had “nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”.
Sunak had termed Hester's comments 'racist' but added that since he has apologised it should be accepted.
Referring to Lee Anderson's recent controversial remark on London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the Scottish first minister lamented that nobody in the Conservative party called him Islamophobic.
Yousaf also wondered how Suella Baverman is allowed to get away with her controversial remarks.
Davindra and Seema Misra, and Vijay and Gita Parekh
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Hasmukh Shingadia and his wife Chandrika were all victims of the Horizon scandal
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)