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Lee Anderson has been suspended from the Conservative party after “Islamophobic” comments.
A spokesperson for Chief Whip Simon Hart 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 take action after the MP for Ashfield said he believed Islamists have “got control” of London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
“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,” Mr Anderson said while speaking on GB News.
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 deputy chairman of the Tory party was Islamophobic and sent the message that Muslims were “fair game” when it came to racism.
Khan: ‘The deafening silence from Rishi Sunak’
“These comments from a senior Conservative are Islamophobic, are anti-Muslim and are racist,” Mr Khan said.
Highlighting the spike in hate crimes, he said: “These comments pour fuel on the fire of anti-Muslim hatred.
“I am afraid the deafening silence form Rishi Sunak and from the cabinet is them condoning this racism.
“I am afraid it confirms to many people across the country that there’s a hierarchy when it comes to racism.”
Mr Anderson’s remarks prompted criticism from Labour who wrote to Mr Sunak calling for the whip to be removed.
Some Tories have also spoken out against the remarks including former cabinet minister 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”.
The comments come amid heightened community tensions in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, with concerns over the conduct of pro-Palestinian protests 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, formerly Twitter, 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…”
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 could get his job back.
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’s salary.
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