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Sadiq Khan criticized Rishi Sunak’s implicit support of Lee Anderson’s “racist” statements on GB News, leading to Anderson’s suspension from the Conservative Party.
The mayor of London stated that the suspension of Mr. Anderson, albeit delayed, proves that the Conservative Party considers Muslims to be a fair target.
Mr Anderson, who quit as deputy Tory chairman last month, had the Conservative whip suspended for claiming “Islamists” have “got control” of Mr Khan.
The head of the Tory whip, Simon Hart, stated that he was suspended not because of his comments, but because he refused to apologize.
Following Lee Anderson’s outburst, Sadiq Khan stated that the Tory party is allowing blatant anti-Muslim hatred to be accepted at all levels.
Mr Khan stated that it is necessary for the Tories to put an end to the moral decay of anti-Muslim sentiment within the party.
According to Mr. Khan, the party is allowing blatant anti-Muslim hatred to go unchecked, with even high-ranking officials and candidates for mayor failing to condemn clear instances of bigotry and racism.
“In the past week, there have been multiple instances of a former Tory prime minister promoting harmful conspiracy theories, a former Tory home secretary perpetuating far-right ideologies, and a former deputy chair of the party singling me out based solely on my faith and race. Despite this, there has been a significant period of silence from the Tories.”
According to Mr Khan, there has been a significant increase in Islamophobia following the Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7th.
Anderson’s remarks have only fueled the flames of anti-Muslim animosity… his statement implies that certain types of hate and discrimination are deemed acceptable.
Mr. Khan, who is running for a third term as London mayor in the upcoming May election, stated that “the last thing anyone would want” is to see a repeat of the divisive, racist, and Islamophobic campaign that the Conservatives ran in London back in 2016.
Mr Khan spoke passionately, stating that the Tories must put an end to their immoral actions that not only bring shame to their party, but also go against the values of openness, decency, and mutual respect held by our country and capital.
Mr Anderson has been suspended from his position as a Tory MP due to a rant on GB News. In the rant, he stated: “I don’t believe that the Islamists have taken control of our country, but I do believe they have control over Khan and London. He has essentially handed over our capital city to his friends.”
After Mr Anderson was suspended, Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of Labour, accused Rishi Sunak of having “extremists” in the party and stated that his lack of strength enables MPs to behave without consequences.
According to a representative for Mr. Hart, the chief whip has suspended Lee Anderson MP’s Conservative whip due to his refusal to apologize for remarks made the previous day.
A Conservative representative was supporting Mr. Anderson as of Friday evening, but on Saturday he lost party backing.
However, the chair of the Labour party, Anneliese Dodds, stated that Mr. Anderson’s remarks were clearly Islamophobic, divisive, and harmful.
In light of his suspension, she stated: “It is appropriate that he has been stripped of his privileges, but the idea that Lee Anderson could have maintained the support of the prime minister by simply apologizing is troubling.”
“I strongly disagree with these beliefs and there should be no stipulations for their exclusion from your group.”
There was immediate speculation that Mr. Anderson might try to join Reform UK, the party formerly known as the Brexit Party, led by Nigel Farage.
The rebellious group had initially refuted allegations of offering bribes to Mr Anderson in order to gain his support. However, it is speculated that he may run for the Ashfield seat in the upcoming general election, where he currently holds a slim majority of approximately 6,000 votes.
It would be a significant setback for Mr. Sunak if Mr. Anderson were to join the Reform party. The party is already posing a threat to Tory prospects in numerous constituencies during the election, and the outspoken MP, who is highly regarded among the Tory right, could potentially persuade even more former Conservative supporters to defect to another party.
When questioned about the speculation, Reform leader Richard Tice stated that he was not concerned with the petty quarrels of the Tory party.
The Prime Minister is facing pressure to withdraw support from his predecessor, Liz Truss, after she was interviewed by Steve Bannon during a trip to the United States. Truss remained quiet as Bannon praised far-right leader Tommy Robinson as a “hero”.
Former chancellor Sajid Javid harshly criticized Ms Truss, stating “I would expect all MPs to directly address such a statement.” Sir Sajid also stated that Liz should be more aware. Additionally, Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth accused Ms Truss of disrespecting the position of prime minister.
Over the weekend, government official Grant Shapps seemed to separate himself from the statements made by Mr. Anderson, but still supported the outspoken backbencher’s freedom of speech.
In a written message to Richard Holden, the Tory chair, Ms Dodds expressed her concern over Mr Anderson’s remarks, stating that they are just one example of a larger issue of Islamophobia within the party that has not been adequately addressed.
She provided instances of Islamophobia within the Conservative Party, such as when London mayoral candidate Susan Hall stated in October that Jewish individuals in London are “afraid” of Mr Khan’s “divisive behavior”.
She also cited an investigation into allegations made by Nus Ghani that she was told that her “Muslimness” was “making colleagues uncomfortable” when she was sacked from the government in 2020.
Ms. Dodds stated that Lee Anderson’s remarks were clearly rooted in Islamophobia and the lack of action from Rishi Sunak to suspend him or take any other measures speaks volumes.
In February of last year, Mr. Sunak appointed Mr. Anderson as the deputy chairman of the Conservative party in an effort to appeal to and retain voters from traditionally Labour-supporting areas, known as the Red Wall, who played a crucial role in Boris Johnson’s victory in the 2019 election.
The Ashfield MP’s frequent controversial statements have caused discomfort for the Prime Minister and other government officials who have had to defend them.
In January, he stepped down from his position as deputy chairman in a significant act of rebellion against Mr Sunak’s bill that aimed to deport individuals to Rwanda. He believed that the bill was not strong enough to enable Britain to deport asylum seekers to this specific country in East Africa.
Source: independent.co.uk
