News Meeting: Disgraced Tory donor Frank Hester and has levelling-up made any difference?

Tortoise understands that the Conservatives have received an as-yet-undeclared £5 million sum from Frank Hester, the party donor embroiled in a race row. In this episode James Harding is joined by Cat Neilan, Tortoise’s political editor, to discuss her exclusive story.The Guardian revealed on Monday that at a meeting in 2019, Frank Hester said seeing Diane Abbott on TV made “you want to hate all black women” and that the long-serving MP “should be shot”. He has apologised for the remarks but denied they were motivated by race or gender.They’re also joined by James Mitchinson, editor of the Yorkshire Post, and journalist and author Peter Pomerantsev.Plus, Kevin Sullivan and Mary Jordan’s first Postcard from America.Email: [email protected] here to book tickets to The News Meeting Live with Elizabeth Day: https://www.tortoisemedia.com/thinkin/the-news-meeting-live-with-elizabeth-day/ Guests:Peter Pomerantsev, journalist and author of How to Win an Information WarJames Mitchinson, editor of the Yorkshire PostCat Neilan, political editor at TortoiseHost: James Harding, editor-in-chief at TortoiseProducer: Rebecca MooreExecutive producer: Lewis VickersTo find out more about Tortoise:- Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists- Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and exclusive content- Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact [email protected]  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.