MP Lee Anderson is regretting leaving the Conservative party after hearing comments by top donor Frank Hester, it has emerged.

The former Tory deputy chairman is kicking himself for defecting to Reform UK and leaving a party that was funded by a man who shared his proudly unwoke worldview all along.

Anderson said: “Is it too late to call the whole thing off? Nothing in the Reform UK manifesto compares to a bloke who donated £10 million to the Tories saying he wants to shoot Diana Abbott. I mean, wow.

“I thought I’d done the right thing by jumping ship to a party that accepted me for my insane theories about Islamists controlling London. But it turns out I was amongst racist friends all along. If only I’d known.

“I f**king love ill-judged comments, whether they’re about poor people, asylum seekers or Eddie Izzard. And they don’t come more ill-judged than Frank saying Diane Abbott makes him want to hate all black women. He’s a master at work.

“The government’s doubling down is the real kicker. It used to be me there feeling the heat of intense public disapproval. This is like seeing your ex with their new beau and realising you’ve made a massive mistake ditching them for another bird.

“Richard Tice has tried to cheer me up by giving me a dartboard with Sadiq Khan’s face on it as an onboarding present, but it’s just not the same.”