West Yorkshire police are investigating alleged racist comments made by Conservative party donor Frank Hester at a meeting in 2019.
The force said the investigation had been passed over from the Metropolitan police because the meeting took place in Horsforth, Leeds.
A spokesperson said officers were now “working to establish the facts and to ultimately ascertain whether a crime has been committed”.
They added that the Met had been contacted on 11 March about a report in the Guardian, and that this was the first time the comments had been brought to the attention of police.