Tory MP Paul Scully apologises for claiming there are ‘no-go areas’ in Britain
by 0 
A former Tory minister has apologised for claiming there are “no-go areas” in London and Birmingham following a backlash.
Paul Scully, who served as the minister for London until the latest reshuffle, has expressed “regret” for the language he used in a BBC interview, where he said people were “concerned about, more and more, their neighbourhoods changing”.
In a post on X, he wrote: “Following the frenzy of yesterday I regret using language that could be misconstrued but at a time when we need to encourage moderate voices speaking up for our diverse communities, frankly my biggest regret is speaking out in the first place.”
Mr Scully, the MP for Sutton and Cheam, also used an interview with BBC Radio London to say he was “sorry for using the word “no-go areas”, adding it was a “blunt thing that also feeds into another set of conspiracy theories”.
The MP’s apology comes after he was encouraged to withdraw his comments by immigration minister Tom Pursglove.
Politics latest: Rishi Sunak tries to put lid on Lee Anderson Islamophobia row
Asked about Mr Scully’s claims on Sky News Breakfast, Mr Pursglove said: “I don’t recognise that depiction.”
He said a “key part” of his role and the government’s migration plans were encouraging immigrants to integrate.
“I think it would be best, again, if that comment was withdrawn,” he added.
Mr Scully said he was feeling “really bruised” after his comments sparked criticism.
“I’m slightly furious that some of the pile-on I had yesterday in some areas, rather than actually people asking me…’what do you mean by that?'”
He added: “Frankly, at the moment, I’m just feeling that I don’t want to get involved in the conversation for some time but I know in my heart that’s not going to last for long because London matters to me, the communities in London really matter to me.”
In his original BBC interview, Mr Scully said he wanted there to be “a sensible use of language so we have a constructive adult debate”.
“If you were just looking at the colour of skin and, for example, when a number of Indians were coming in the 70s – my father is half-Burmese, so I’ve seen it first hand – and if it is about the colour of skin, that’s one thing,” he said.
“The point I am trying to make is if you look at parts of Tower Hamlets, for example, there are no-go areas.
“Parts of Birmingham, Sparkhill, where there are no-go areas, mainly because of doctrine, mainly because of people using – abusing in many ways – their religion because it is not the doctrine of Islam, to espouse what some of these people are saying.”
Read more:
Sunak ‘made calculation he doesn’t need Muslim voters’
More than 40% of public think Labour still has antisemitism problem
The comments were criticised by Tory West Midlands mayor Andy Street, who posted on X that it was “news to me and I suspect the good people of Sparkhill” to claim there were “no-go areas”.
Jess Phillips, the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, also wrote on the social media platform that she was “expecting an apology for this utter drivel”.
Mr Scully’s comments come as the Conservative Party faces accusations of Islamophobia following Lee Anderson’s claim that “Islamists” had taken control of London and its mayor, Sadiq Khan.
Mr Sunak has condemned Mr Anderson’s attack on Mr Khan as unacceptable and “wrong” but refused to say whether they were Islamophobic.
Asked whether Mr Anderson’s comments were racist, Mr Pursglove echoed the prime minister’s language and said: “I don’t think personally that Lee is racist, but what he said was unacceptable. He shouldn’t have said it.”
