Why would anyone think Frank Hester’s alleged comments were not racist? - Yorkshire Post Letters

The opinion expressed in Paul Morley’s letter (The YP, March 16) was beyond shocking. His view on the ongoing matter of deeply unpleasant remarks made by a major Tory donor, that the only crime is “how someone as inept as Diane Abbott ever became an MP in the first place”, speaks volumes as to Mr Morley’s moral standards (and lack thereof).

Clearly, Mr Morley thinks that racist and misogynist language is acceptable, as is saying that a person should be shot. The latter is particularly disturbing, given that two MPs have been murdered in the last eight years.

Diane Abbott is a democratically elected MP. If Mr Morley had bothered to check his facts before putting forward his unsavoury views for publication, he would see that, in her 36-plus years as an MP, she has notched up many achievements and has a loyal following among her constituents.

Whether or not one agrees with her politics, inept she most certainly ain’t. Mr Morley might also wish to reconsider his classification of ineptitude as a crime. Given the parlous state of our nation after 14 years under a Conservative government, by this definition most of the Tory cabinet should be standing in the dock right now.