Abbott calls Tory donor's comments frightening

Diane Abbott has said comments allegedly made by a top Tory donor that the MP made him "want to hate all black women" and that she needed "to be shot" were "frightening".

Britain's longest-serving black MP said the "fact that two MPs have been murdered in recent years makes talk like this all the more alarming".

Mr Hester has apologised for making "rude" comments about Ms Abbott.

But he said his remarks "had nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin".

In a statement on Tuesday, Ms Abbott said as a single woman she was already "vulnerable" when walking or taking a bus in her Hackney constituency.

"For all of my career as an MP I have thought it important, not to live in a bubble, but to mix and mingle with ordinary people," she added.

"The fact that two MPs have been murdered in recent years makes talk like this all the more alarming."

Mr Hester, who gave the Conservatives £10m last year, made remarks about Ms Abbott while criticising a female executive at another organisation during a meeting at his company's headquarters.