Rishi Sunak says Lee Anderson remarks ‘had been incorrect’ after booting him out

Rishi Sunak has stated remarks by Lee Anderson “weren’t acceptable” and claimed “words matter”.

Mr Anderson was suspended on Saturday after vile feedback he made on GB News about London Mayor Sadiq Khan. He claimed that Mr Khan was managed by Islamists in remarks branded racist and Islamophobic by critics.

Mr Sunak advised BBC Radio York: “I said his clearly his choice of words wasn’t acceptable. It was wrong. And that’s why the whip was suspended. Words matter, especially in the current environment where tensions are running high. And I think it’s incumbent on all of us to choose them carefully.”

Asked if the Tory Party had ‘Islamophobic tendencies’, he responded: “No of course it doesn’t.” It comes because the PM faces calls to launch a probe into attitudes in direction of Muslims inside his celebration.

Asked if he was nervous a few backlash on the polls, the PM stated: “It’s not about that. I think in a situation like this, it’s important that we maintain high standards. And, you know, unfortunately, the words that Lee chose, one, acceptable, they were wrong. And that’s why it was right that the whip was suspended.“

The Muslim Council of Britain has referred to as on the PM to launch an investigation into “structural Islamophobia” throughout the Tory Party. It stated anti-Muslim sentiment within the celebration was “on display this week”.

On Sunday Deputy PM Oliver Dowden urged Mr Anderson would have gotten away with a slap on the wrist if he’d apologised. He advised the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that he’d have saved the Tory whip if he’d stated sorry.

And this morning Transport Secretary Mark Harper left the door open for a doable return to the Tory celebration. Asked what he must say to be welcomed again, the Cabinet minister advised Sky News: “I hope he will reflect on what he said and he will retract those comments and apologise…

“But I’m not going to inform the chief whip how one can do his job, that is for him.” Mr Harper continued: “He’s contributed lots prior to now. I’d wish to see him have the ability to contribute to the Conservative Party sooner or later.” The Transport Secretary declined to say whether Mr Anderson’s remarks were racist despite being pressed repeatedly, reiterating only that they were “incorrect”.