Keir Starmer has accused Rishi Sunak of harbouring ‘extremists’ in Conservative ranks following the suspension of the party’s former deputy chair Lee Anderson.
The ‘Red Wall’ MP had the Tory whip stripped from him yesterday after refusing to apologise for his claim that London mayor Sadiq Khan is controlled by ‘Islamists’.
His remarks caused widespread outrage – including from senior Tories – with Mr Khan hitting out at Mr Anderson for ‘Islamophobic, anti-Muslim, racist’ comments.
The London mayor has now also attacked the Prime Minister for his ‘silence’ over the Ashfield MP’s claims, while the Tories are being urged to ‘own up’ to an ‘Islamophobia problem’ in their ranks by the Muslim Council of Britain.
Sir Keir last night urged Mr Sunak to ‘get a grip’ and ‘stop this slide into ever more toxic rhetoric’.
Following his suspension by the Tories, Mr Anderson is due to sit in the House of Commons as an independent MP unless he defects to another party.
Nigel Farage has made a direct pitch for his fellow GB News presenter to join Reform UK, saying Mr Anderson would ‘feel happier’ in his insurgent party and be a ‘massive help’.
Keir Starmer has accused Rishi Sunak of harbouring ‘extremists’ in Conservative ranks following the suspension of the party’s former deputy chair Lee Anderson (left)
The Labour leader urged Mr Sunak to ‘get a grip’ and ‘stop this slide into ever more toxic rhetoric’
The ‘Red Wall’ MP had the Tory whip stripped from him yesterday after refusing to apologise for his claim that London mayor Sadiq Khan is controlled by ‘Islamists’
Nigel Farage has made a direct pitch for his fellow GB News presenter to join Reform UK, saying Mr Anderson would ‘feel happier’ in his insurgent party and be a ‘massive help’
Miqdaad Versi, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, claimed Mr Anderson’s comments were ‘the tip of the iceberg of a much bigger problem’ in the Tories
The row erupted after Mr Anderson said in an appearance on GB News that ‘Islamists’ were controlling London and its mayor and that Mr Khan had ‘given our capital city away to his mates’.
Speaking to the Observer following Mr Anderson’s suspension, Sir Keir said: ‘It’s right that Lee Anderson has lost the whip after this appalling racist and Islamophobic outburst.
‘But what does it say about the PM’s judgement that he made Lee Anderson deputy chairman of his party?
‘Whether it is Liz Truss staying silent on Tommy Robinson or Suella Braverman’s extreme rhetoric, Rishi Sunak’s weakness means Tory MPs can act with impunity.
‘This isn’t just embarrassing for the Conservative Party, it emboldens the worst forces in our politics.
‘Rishi Sunak needs to get a grip and take on the extremists in his party.
‘The Tories may be getting more and more desperate as the election approaches, but Rishi Sunak has a responsibility to stop this slide into ever more toxic rhetoric.’
A Conservative source was defending Mr Anderson as recently as Friday evening before he was stripped of party support on Saturday afternoon.
In his own attack on the PM, Mr Khan said Mr Sunak’s ‘silence’ amounted to ‘tacit endorsement’ of Mr Anderson’s comments.
The London mayor said: ‘Although the whip has been belatedly withdrawn from Lee Anderson, the silence from Rishi Sunak and the Cabinet and tacit endorsement of these vile remarks via Conservative briefings can’t help but lead to the conclusion that Muslims are fair game as far as the Conservative Party is concerned.’
Miqdaad Versi, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, claimed Mr Anderson’s comments were ‘the tip of the iceberg of a much bigger problem’ in the Tories.
He wrote in the Sunday Mirror: ‘Anderson was not suspended for his vitriolic remarks on GB News, but for failing to apologise for them. Would he still have been suspended had he apologised?
‘The PM’s silence is telling. Will he condemn Anderson’s remarks and remove him from the party? Or will his suspension be lifted when people lose interest, as with previous councillors?’
The Muslim Council of Britain wrote to Conservative chairman Richard Holden today to demand an investigation into ‘structural Islamophobia’ in the party.
Zara Mohammed, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: ‘Our view is that the Islamophobia in the party is institutional, tolerated by the leadership and seen as acceptable by great swathes of the party membership.’
The letter also criticised the Tories for removing the whip from Mr Anderson only after he refused to apologise.
Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister, admitted Mr Anderson would have kept the Tory whip if he had apologised for his comments about Mr Khan
The Muslim Council of Britain has written to Conservative chairman Richard Holden to demand an investigation into ‘structural Islamophobia’ in the party
Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister, this morning admitted Mr Anderson would have kept the Tory whip if he had apologised for his comments about Mr Khan.
He also said he does not believe Mr Anderson was ‘intending’ to be Islamophobic with his remarks.
‘What he said was wrong and words matter, and he was given the opportunity to apologise and he didn’t do so, so therefore we removed the whip,’ Mr Dowden told Sky News.
But the Deputy PM said other comments made by former home secretary Suella Braverman had not ‘crossed the line’ to require an apology.
She has claimed Britain is ‘sleepwalking into a ghettoised society’ with ‘Islamists’ in charge.
Mr Dowden said: ‘When it comes to the wording used by individual Conservatives, I said I disagreed with the language used by Lee Anderson.
‘I don’t believe that the language used by Suella Braverman has crossed the line whereby she should apologise for it. No, I don’t.’
There is widespread speculation about Mr Anderson possibly defecting to Reform following his suspension by the Tories.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Mr Farage raised the prospect of Mr Anderson joining the party, saying: ‘I just think Lee has a very good heart.
‘He’s still relatively new at politics, he’s had a few ups and downs, but I think his heart is in the right place and he’d be a massive help to the cause.
‘He’d probably feel happier in Reform than he has in the current Conservative Party.’
Asked about the Tories’ decision to suspend the whip from Ma Anderson, Mr Farage replied: ‘It doesn’t surprise me at all.
‘They are a social democrat party, they don’t like open free speech.’
Mr Farage is honorary president of Reform, formerly known as the Brexit Party, and has repeatedly refused to rule out a return as the outfit’s leader ahead of the general election.
Richard Tice, Reform’s current leader, stressed he is ‘not in touch’ with Mr Anderson following his suspension.
‘I’m not in touch with Lee. Lee’s not in touch,’ Mr Tice told Times Radio.
‘As far as I’m concerned, this appears to be an internal squabble within the Conservative Party about language…. I’m not going to phone any Conservative MP.
He added: ‘Nigel is our honorary president but he doesn’t have any executive role in the party. And we do live in a world of free speech. And he’s putting out a sentiment and that’s fine.
‘But the reality is we’re focusing on what we’re doing well. And I suspect that Mr Anderson and the Conservative Party are working things out between them.’
After his suspension by the Tories, Mr Anderson said in a statement yesterday: ‘Following a call with the Chief Whip, I understand the difficult position that I have put both he and the Prime Minister in with regard to my comments.
‘I fully accept that they had no option but to suspend the whip in these circumstances.
‘However, I will continue to support the Government’s efforts to call out extremism in all its forms – be that anti-Semitism or Islamophobia.’
Mr Anderson was deputy chairman of the Tory Party until resigning in January to rebel against Mr Sunak’s legislation to revive the stalled plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.
He was one of 58 Conservatives to vote in favour of an amendment that sought to ensure UK and international law cannot be used to prevent or delay a person being sent to Kigali under the scheme.
Mr Anderson has served since 2019 as MP for Ashfield, one of the previously Labour seats in the so-called ‘Red Wall’ where voters switched to the Tories post-Brexit to give Boris Johnson his landslide victory.
A Conservative spokesperson said: ‘An investigation and subsequent independent review, both conducted over several years by Professor Swaran Singh, found no evidence of institutional racism in the Conservative Party.’