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Lee Anderson is at the centre of a racism row after he claimed Islamists have “got control of” Sadiq Khan.
The former Tory Party chairman provoked a furious backlash by saying the London mayor, who is Muslim, had “given our capital city away to his mates”.
His comments, on GB News, were apparently a reference to the pro-Palestine marches which have taken place in London since the outbreak of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
They came after former home secretary Suella Braverman claimed that “Islamists” are now running the country.
Anderson said: “I don’t actually believe that these Islamists have got control of our country, but what I do believe is they’ve got control of Khan and they’ve got control of London.”
He added: “This stems with Khan. He’s actually given our capital city away to his mates … beware, because if you let Labour in through the back door, expect more of this and expect our cities to be taken over by these lunatics.”
Conservative MP Lee Anderson tells GB News that he thinks Sadiq Khan has "given our capital city away" to Islamists, who are "his mates".
"Islamists have got control of Khan and they’ve got control of London," he says. pic.twitter.com/XnGbXMyB2y
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) February 23, 2024
Labour chairwoman Anneliese Dodds said: “Lee Anderson’s comments are unambiguously racist and Islamophobic. Rishi Sunak needs to immediately remove the whip. If he is too weak, then people will take their own view of the modern Conservative Party.”
A London Labour source: “This sort of vile Islamaphobia is exactly how the Tories campaigned against Sadiq Khan in 2016. Surely they will not tolerate it this time round?”
Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: These comments from a Conservative MP are despicable. Rishi Sunak should remove the Conservative whip. There should be no space for this in our country, let alone in parliament.”
Former Tory MP Gavin Barwell, who was also Theresa May’s chief of staff when she was prime minister, said Anderson’s comments were “a despicable slur”.
A despicable slur on @SadiqKhan and Londoners
In his first speech as PM, @RishiSunak said he would "unite our country". If he allows the likes of Anderson to spread hate and division like this, those words will be revealed as a sham https://t.co/MreUDW0Nzg
— Gavin Barwell (@GavinBarwell) February 23, 2024
But a Conservative Party source defended Anderson’s comments.
He told HuffPost UK: “Lee was simply making the point that the mayor, in his capacity as police and crime commissioner for London, has abjectly failed to get a grip on the appalling Islamist marches we have seen in London recently.”
Those comments were then slammed by shadow health secretary Wes Streeting.
If I were this ‘Conservative source’ I’d be ashamed to put my name to these comments, too.
Let’s see how many Tory Ministers and MPs are willing to be complicit in this and how many are willing to stand up for decency in our democracy. https://t.co/IcXSlOQQn0
— Wes Streeting MP (@wesstreeting) February 23, 2024
The row came as Liz Truss was condemned over her appearance alongside former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon at a right-wing conference in America.
At one point, Bannon referred to far-right activist Tommy Robinson as a “hero”, but the former prime minister said nothing.
Sajid Javid, who served in several Tory cabinets alongside Truss, criticised her for not confronting Bannon.
I'd hope every MP would confront such a statement head on.
Liz should really know better. https://t.co/8eibAMqxFz
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) February 23, 2024
A spokesman for Truss did not respond to a request for comment from HuffPost UK.
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