Council leader Bella Sankey criticised the Conservatives over racist remarks alleged to have been made by the party’s biggest individual donor Frank Hester.

Councillor Sankey called it disgraceful that the Tories, who have refused to return donations of up to £15 million, were being bankrolled by the businessman.

The Labour leader of Brighton and Hove City Council spoke out in light of calls by the government for public bodies to cut their spending on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) schemes.

She spoke out at a meeting after the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, and his fellow Conservative cabinet minister Michael Gove criticised councils for spending money on EDI schemes.

The ministers’ approach was echoed by Conservative councillor Alistair McNair when the council set its £1.1 billion annual budget last month.

The Tory group leader wanted £104,000 taken from the council’s anti-racism budget and spent instead on home to school transport, school grounds and bowls club maintenance and services tackling violence against women and girls.

Councillor Sankey made her latest criticisms when the council’s strategy, finance and city regeneration committee met at Hove Town Hall.

She said: “It is self-evidently ludicrous to suggest that the billions missing from our communities through local government finance is due to equality, diversity and inclusion.

“But this government is now no longer just attacking EDI in principle. Something even darker has moved centre stage of our politics.

“Former Tory Prime Minister Liz Truss cosied up to Steve Bannon while he heaped praise on Tommy Robinson.

“Our Prime Minister Rishi Sunak failed to confront the Islamophobic comments of his former party chair, Lee Anderson.

“And earlier this week, it was revealed that the biggest donor to the Conservative Party is reported to have called for Diane Abbott, our first black woman MP, to be shot – and to have said that looking at her makes him hate all black women.

“Conservative ministers then fanned out across our TV screens to tell us this was not racism nor misogyny and that they would continue accepting this man’s donations.

“The utter moral failure to accept that violent anti-black racist misogyny should have no place whatsoever in our politics, let alone bankrolling the party of government … what an utter disgrace.

“I want to acknowledge that black and mixed heritage women across Brighton and Hove and across our country have been triggered, hurt and angered by these shocking and violent comments. As have so many.

“My administration utterly rejects the moral abyss that our government now represents and the ugly place it is seeking to take our society.

“We certainly won’t take lessons on equality, diversity and inclusion from a party sponsored by race-hate.

“Instead, we are expanding our EDI work. This year we launched a third ‘diverse talent’ programme, focusing on staff seeking to progress to senior grades.

“And on Monday I was pleased, along with the co-ordinator of our Black and Minority Ethnic Forum network, Helen Charles, to address our Leadership Network on a new programme to implement the other positive action section of the Equality Act, meaning we are actively and positively recruiting those from under-represented groups in tie-breaker situations.”