Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis has said the Tories “have no right to stay in power” as he launched a furious attack on their record in government.
The tycoon, who has donated to the Conservatives in the past, said they had done “a rubbish job”, particularly in recent years.
He also hit out at the “appalling” comments the Tories’ biggest donor, Frank Hester, allegedly made about Diane Abbott.
According to The Guardian, Hester said the MP “made him want to hate all black women” and “should be shot”. He has apologised for being “rude”.
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg this morning, Paphitis was asked which political party he would invest in if he was still on Dragons’ Den.
He said: “The Tories have just done such a rubbish job over the last seven or eight years.
“They’ve spent all their time looking inwards on themselves [rather] than doing the job that we’ve elected them to do.
“So they have no right to stay in power whatsoever.”
Paphitis also slammed the recent Budget, which he described as “the last act of a very demob happy bunch”.
“No effort was made to do anything creative with ingenuity that would raise more money for the Treasury,” he said.
For Mr Hester to say what he said - and I’ve heard it described as abhorrent and racist - I actually think it’s criminal and it’s appalling.
“If he is a Tory Party member, he should be thrown out that party.”
He added: “A fish rots from the top. If we’re going to have this divisive politics that we’re living through at the moment, unfortunately that’s the outcome.”
Paphitis’ comments came amid mounting turmoil in the Tory Party, with fresh speculation that Rishi Sunak could be dumped before the general election.