Jamaica condemns Frank Hester’s Diane Abbott comments amid concern over contract

The Jamaican government has joined widespread condemnation of comments by the Conservative’s party’s biggest donor, Frank Hester, amid concerns about a contract it signed with his digital health company.

Earlier in March the Guardian revealed that during a meeting in 2019 Hester had said Diane Abbott, Britain’s first black female MP, made you “want to hate all black women” and that she “should be shot”, remarks that are now subject of investigation by West Yorkshire police.

After the publication of the remarks, Jamaica’s health ministry has faced calls to cancel a deal, worth a reported $5m (£4m), for Hester’s healthcare technology company, TPP, to manage the country’s digital medical records.

In its first comments on the issue, Jamaica’s ministry of health and wellness (MOHW) said in a statement that it “condemns any form of discriminatory behaviour, including racism and sexism”, the Jamaica Gleaner reported.

It pointed out the contract was signed with TPP before the ministry was aware of Hester’s remarks.

The ministry called on TPP to hold Hester to account for the remarks. It said: “The MOHW takes this matter very seriously and calls for appropriate action to be taken within the firm to hold Mr Hester accountable based on the findings from the investigations.”

Jamaica’s culture minister, Olivia Grange, also condemned the remarks. In a statement seen by the Guardian, she said: “As a Jamaican woman, I was shocked to read that a prominent Englishman had made such a horrible statement that seeing Diane Abbott on TV made him ‘want to hate all Black women’.”

She added: “That the woman of whom he spoke has Jamaican roots, made his statement a personal offence to me and all Black Jamaican women. On behalf of all Jamaicans, I offer Diane full support in this difficult situation.”

“I hope there is some way to reconcile this matter in a way that brings peace.”

Hester has apologised for the remarks as being “rude” but insisted they were not motivated by race or gender.

Lord Marland, a businessman and Tory donor who says he knows Hester, has previously cited TPP’s work in Jamaica to support his claim that Hester is not racist. Speaking on LBC, Marland said: “He travels widely overseas – he does a lot of a business in Jamaica, he does business in Malaysia, in Bangladesh, in places like that – so he’s not a racist.”

Earlier on Monday, Jamaica’s opposition health spokesperson, Dr Alfred Dawes, said this defence added “insult to injury”. He was reported as saying: “That the government of Jamaica is allowing its dealings with Mr Hester to be used as a rebuttal to the activism of black Britons, the diaspora and their supporters, is an egregious offence against our proud history of the struggle against oppression.”

Last week, a former Jamiacan opposition MP Ronald Thwaites urged the government to tear up its contract with TPP. He wrote: “Diane’s Jamaican sisters and brothers are now paying big money tomplement the National Medical Records System. The Ministry of Health must cancel that contract now.”