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Lee Anderson has been suspended from the Conservative Party for an “anti-Muslim” rant about Sadiq Khan on GB News.
In a surprising fall from grace for Mr Anderson, who till final month was the deputy chairman of the party, he’ll now not sit as a Tory MP.
It follows Mr Anderson’s refusal to apologise over a broadly criticised interview by which he stated “Islamists” have “got control” of Mr Khan.
Lee Anderson has had the Tory whip suspended (PA)
(PA Wire)
In an look on GB News, Mr Anderson stated: “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.”
Asked in regards to the feedback, Mr Khan stated: “These comments from a senior Conservative are Islamophobic, are anti Muslim and are racist.”
And, piling strain on Rishi Sunak to droop Mr Anderson, he stated: “Racism is racism, I’m unclear why Rishi Sunak and members of his cabinet aren’t calling this out or condemning this.
“It’s like they’re complicit in this sort of racism. And I think the message it sends is, Muslims are fair game.” And Mr Khan pointed to figures exhibiting a spike in anti-Muslim hate incidents in current months, including that Mr Anderson’s feedback “pour fuel on the fire”.
A spokesperson for Tory chief whip Simon Hart stated the choice had been made following the previous Tory deputy chairman’s “refusal to apologise” for the remarks made on Friday.
Pressure had been mounting on the prime minister to take motion over the feedback from the Ashfield MP
(PA)
Pressure had been mounting on the prime minister to take motion over the feedback from the Ashfield MP, with Mr Khan saying the “deafening silence” of the Mr Sunak and his cupboard amounted to condoning racism.
A Conservative supply was defending Mr Anderson as not too long ago as Friday night earlier than he was stripped of party help on Saturday.
A spokesperson for Mr Hart stated: “Following his refusal to apologise for comments made yesterday, the Chief Whip has suspended the Conservative whip from Lee Anderson MP.”
The PM can be below strain to take away the whip from his predecessor Liz Truss, who was interviewed by Steve Bannon and remained silent as he hailed far-right determine Tommy Robinson a “hero”.
Ms Truss was slammed by former chancellor Sajid Javid, who stated “I’d hope every MP would confront such a statement head on”. “Liz should really know better,” Sir Sajid added. And Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth accused Ms Truss of an “unforgivable lowering of the office of prime minister”.
On Saturday morning, cupboard minister Grant Shapps appeared to distance himself from the feedback by Mr Anderson, however defended the controversial backbencher’s proper to “speak (his) mind”.
But left-wing Labour MP Dawn Butler, chairman of the London Parliamentary Labour Party, has written alongside fellow London Labour MPs to the prime minister calling for “immediate action” over Mr Anderson’s feedback.
Ms Butler stated the feedback had been “Islamaphobic and hateful” and “fuel the flames” of division in society, calling for Mr Anderson to have the Tory whip eliminated.
And Labour demanded “serious, concrete action” from the Conservatives to “finally root out Islamophobia” after the feedback.
In a letter to Tory Chairman Richard Holden, Labour chairman Anneliese Dodds stated Mr Anderson’s feedback are “the tip of iceberg” and observe a “deeply concerning pattern of Islamophobic comments tolerated and Islamophobia not dealt with” inside the party.
She cited examples of Islamophobia inside the Conservative Party together with London mayoral candidate Susan Hall’s declare in October that Jewish individuals in London are “frightened” of Mr Khan’s “divisive attitude”.
She additionally cited an investigation into allegations made by Nus Ghani that she was informed that her “Muslimness” was “making colleagues uncomfortable” when she was sacked from the Government in 2020.
Ms Dodds had stated: “Lee Anderson’s comments were unambiguously Islamophobic and Rishi Sunak’s failure to suspend the whip or take any other action speaks volumes.”
Mr Sunak made Mr Anderson Tory deputy chairman final February in a bid to attach with and maintain onto so-called Red Wall voters who helped the party win below Boris Johnson in 2019.
But the Ashfield MP’s repeated controversial remarks usually proved awkward for the PM and different ministers compelled to defend them.
He resigned as deputy chairman in January as a part of a serious insurrection towards Mr Sunak’s Rwanda deportation invoice, believing the laws didn’t go far sufficient to permit Britain to deport asylum seekers to the east African nation.
Business minister Nus Ghani described fellow Tory MP Mr Anderson’s declare that “Islamists” have “got control” of Mr Khan as “foolish and dangerous”.
In a publish on X, she stated: “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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