Lee Anderson suspended from Conservative Party over ‘Islamophobic’ comments
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Lee Anderson has been suspended from the Conservative Party after making “Islamophobic” comments.
A spokesperson for Simon Hart, the chief whip, said: “Following his refusal to apologise for comments made yesterday, the chief whip has suspended the Conservative whip from Lee Anderson MP.”
Pressure had been mounting on Rishi Sunak to act after the MP for Ashfield said he believed “Islamists” had “got control” of Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London.
On GB News earlier this week, Mr Anderson said: “I don’t actually believe that the 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’s actually given our capital city away to his mates.”
Responding on Saturday, Mr Khan accused the prime minister of being “complicit” in racism for failing to condemn Mr Anderson‘s comments that “pour fuel on the fire of anti-Muslim hatred”.
He said the claim by the former Tory deputy chairman was Islamophobic and sent the message that Muslims were “fair game” when it came to racism.
Anneliese Dodds MP, chair of the Labour Party, said Mr Anderson’s comments were “unambiguously Islamophobic, divisive and damaging”.
She said the decision to remove the whip was the “right” one but the suggestion he would have retained the prime minister’s confidence if he had apologised is “deeply concerning”.
Ms Dodds called on Mr Sunak to “do more to tackle extremists in his party” accusing former prime minister Liz Truss and Suella Braverman, former home secretary, of “giving voice to hateful commentary and conspiracy theories”.
“Labour is calling on the prime minister to also remove the whip from Liz Truss for her egregious and embarrassing comments about our country on the international stage and if he doesn’t then he is not serious about ridding the Conservatives of radical and dangerous views,” she said.
Rishi Sunak and Lee Anderson in January. Pic: Reuters
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage, told Sky News that Mr Anderson should “join Reform UK”, the party formerly known as the Brexit Party, which Mr Farage is honorary president of.
Some Tories have spoken out against Mr Anderson’s remarks, including former cabinet minister Sir Sajid Javid, who branded them “ridiculous”.
Cabinet minister Grant Shapps distanced himself from Mr Anderson’s comments but appeared to defend his right to “speak [his] mind”.
He made the comments at a time of heightened community tensions as the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza rages, with concerns over the conduct of pro-Palestinian protesters and fears of violence against MPs.
Business minister Nus Ghani described her Tory colleague’s comments as “foolish and dangerous”.
In a post on X, the Wealden MP said: “I have spoken to Lee Anderson. I’ve called out Islamic extremism (& been attacked by hard left, far right & Islamists).
“I don’t for one moment believe that Sadiq Khan is controlled by Islamists. To say so, is both foolish and dangerous. Frankly this is all so tiring…”
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Mr Anderson was a deputy chair of the Conservative Party until he resigned his post to vote against Mr Sunak’s Rwanda bill.
He later said he wished he could get his job back.
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It is not the first time Mr Anderson has been subject to controversy.
He has been nicknamed “30p Lee” by some critics for previously suggesting that someone could cook themselves meals from scratch for “about 30 pence a day“.
Mr Anderson gets £100,000 a year for his GB News show on top of his £86,584 MP salary.
