PM says donor was racist and ‘funeral home horror’

Image caption, A variety of stories lead Wednesday’s papers. The Guardian reports that Downing Street has described remarks allegedly made by businessman Frank Hester, the Conservative Party’s biggest donor, about Diane Abbott as “racist and wrong”. Mr Hester reportedly said the MP made him want to “hate all black women”. The paper says ministers initially stopped short of describing the remarks, which Ms Abbott has now reported to the police, as racist. It also carries a follow-up report alleging that, during one crowded meeting, Mr Hester asked whether there was “no room for the Indians” and suggested that staff climb onto a train roof.

Image caption, The i says Downing Street’s admission comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak came under pressure from senior Tories, with Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch among those who had broken ranks to describe Mr Hester’s remarks as racist.

Image caption, People whose asylum applications are declined by the UK but who cannot return to their home country will be offered £3,000 to move to Rwanda under a new voluntary scheme, according to the Times. The paper says the scheme, which is separate from flagship Rwanda deportation plans, would be open to tens of thousands of people in the UK.

Image caption, The Daily Express says former Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to hit the campaign trail at the next general election in support of “hard won” Brexit freedoms.

Image caption, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said he wants MPs to have a vote on whether to legalise assisted dying and would seek to hold it before the end of the next parliament, according to the Daily Telegraph. The paper says Sir Keir made the comments in a phone call with broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen, who has terminal cancer and has said she is considering assisted dying. It quotes him saying he is “personally in favour of changing the law” and that “for people who are going through this… this matters hugely and delay just prolongs the agony”.

Image caption, The Daily Mail says that more than 1,000 people have contacted a police hotline set up as part of an investigation into a family funeral director in Hull. Police said on Tuesday said they had removed 35 bodies and a quantity of ashes from Legacy Independent Funeral Directors over “concern for care of the deceased”. The paper said dozens of families whose loved ones were handled by the firm have been “left agonising over whether the bodies were ever actually cremated or if they received the wrong ashes”.

Image caption, One woman, Billie Jo Suffill, tells the Daily Mirror she fears for what was done with the remains of her brother and father. “It’s like something out of a horror movie,” she says.

Image caption, The Metro says three people have been arrested as part of an investigation into possible fraud following the collapse of a care home firm that had spent money on a private jet, two yachts, and numerous luxury cars. The paper says the Carlauren Group went into administration despite raising £76m from investors, forcing elderly residents to leave the company’s homes.

Image caption, Paul O’Grady set aside £125,000 in his will to pay for the care of his five pet dogs, the Sun reports. The paper adds that the broadcaster, who died last year, left another £500,000 of his £15.5m estate to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

Image caption, The Financial Times says the news that US inflation unexpectedly rose to 3.2% in February has highlighted the challenge faced by the Federal Reserve in trying to get prices back down. The paper says economists had expected inflation to remain at January’s rate of 3.1%, and that the rise has led to warnings that “the Fed may have to wait longer than expected before cutting interest rates from their 23-year high”.

Image caption, And the Daily Star says Britain is seeing the “end of table manners as we chew with our mouths open and won’t ever put [our phones] down”. The headline reads: “Oink!”