West Yorkshire police are investigating “racist comments which were allegedly made at a meeting” by the Conservative donor Frank Hester in 2019. The investigation was triggered after the Guardian reported that Hester, a businessman based in Leeds, told colleagues that looking at Diane Abbott made you “want to hate all black women” and said the MP “should be shot”. Hester, who has given £10m to the Tories in the past year, said in the meeting that he did not hate all black women. But he did say that seeing Abbott, who is Britain’s longest-serving black MP, on TV meant “you just want to hate all black women because she’s there”. After the report last week, Abbott made a complaint to the Metropolitan police. The West Yorkshire force has taken on the inquiry into the remarks, as they were made at a meeting at the offices of Hester’s company in Horsforth, in west Leeds. A police spokesperson said officers were “working to establish the facts and to ultimately ascertain whether a crime has been committed”. West Yorkshire police said: “We recognise the strong reaction to these allegations and appreciate everyone who has contacted us since the article was published. “As we continue our inquiry, we are keen to hear from anyone who could directly assist our investigation.” The force appealed for any information to help with the inquiry, which is named “Operation Brassminster”. After the publication of the remarks, a statement from TPP said Hester “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”. The statement said Hester abhorred racism, “not least because he experienced it as the child of Irish immigrants in the 1970s”. The statement added: “He rang Diane Abbott twice today to try to apologise directly for the hurt he has caused her, and is deeply sorry for his remarks. He wishes to make it clear that he regards racism as a poison which has no place in public life.” Hester runs a healthcare technology firm, the Phoenix Partnership (TPP), which has been paid more than £400m by the NHS and other government bodies since 2016, primarily to look after 60m UK medical records. He has profited from £135m of contracts with the Department of Health and Social Care in less than four years. Hester gave £5m to the Conservatives in May 2023 and announced this month a further £5m donation, which had been accepted by the party from his company in November last year. With months to go before the next general election, a party spokesperson confirmed he was its “biggest ever donor”. Labour has called for the Conservatives to return the £10m donation from Hester and his company. The party is also reportedly in discussions about accepting a further £5m from Hester.