The Tories are under pressure to punish Cabinet members and party staff who allegedly backed Lee Anderson when he was suspended for suggesting Sadiq Khan was controlled by “Islamists”.
Labour has written to the Conservatives to demand action after Mr Anderson claimed Cabinet Ministers told him, “Rishi’s thrown you under the bus”, after he had the Tory whip removed over the comments about the London Mayor. In a leaked recording obtained by ITV News, the now Reform UK MP also said Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) employees texted him saying, “well done”, and that he was saying “what millions of people are thinking up and down the country”.
Mr Khan said it was “deeply depressing” that Mr Anderson comments suggest “his Islamophobia and anti Muslim hatred was cheered on by current Tory party staff, MPs and Cabinet ministers”.
In February, appearing on GB News, Ashfield MP Mr Anderson said Mr Khan had “given our capital city away to his mates”. “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 added.
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In a recording leaked to ITV News, Mr Anderson, who resigned as Tory Deputy chair in January to rebel over the Rwanda Bill, said: “Nothing I said was racist I’ve never mentioned Sadiq Khan’s race, the colour of his skin, anything like that. But anyway, I was getting messages of support from CCHQ were texting me, employees, well done Lee. It’ll all blow over by Monday but you’re saying what millions of people are thinking up and down the country.
“And Sadiq Khan has been a disaster for London. He hates this country. He hates our history, our heritage, our culture, he hates everything about it. Well, we see that on a daily basis, so I’m getting these messages from CCHQ saying well done blah blah blah. Even Cabinet Ministers. When I had the whip took off me I had Cabinet Ministers texting me saying: ‘Rishi’s thrown you under a bus.'”
When later pressed by ITV, Mr Anderson would not confirm who texted him but that “there were a few, more than one”, adding: “At least two Cabinet ministers contacted me to say I’d been treated poorly.”
Labour Party Chair Anneliese Dodds has written to Tory party chair Richard Holden demanding to know the next steps he will take to “identify the individuals who have supported Lee Anderson’s offensive statements and what action will be taken against them”. In the letter, she wrote: “I am disappointed to be writing to you once again about extreme and offensive views being held by, and seemingly tolerated by, members of the Conservative Party.”
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Ms Dodds added: “Lee Anderson’s comments were racist, Islamophobic and divisive. That his views are apparently shared by so many colleagues shows clearly that the nasty party is firmly back. Rishi Sunak is too weak to take on the extreme views that are in his party and, as we find out today, are shared by his party staff, MPs and even cabinet ministers.
Mr Khan is seeking re-election in London’s mayoral elections on Thursday, where he will go up against Tory candidate Susan Hall. It has emerged that Ms Hall is a member of seven online campaign groups, which have been described as “forums for vile racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobic attacks on Sadiq Khan“. Rishi Sunak twice failed to condemn “disgraceful” posts in the Facebook groups.
Mr Khan said: “In the past 24 hours we have seen my Tory mayoral opponent endorsing Facebook groups rife with anti-semitism, Islamophobia and death threats against me. And now we have a former Tory party Deputy chair caught on camera being racist. It is deeply depressing that he confirms his Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred was cheered on by current Tory party staff, MPs and Cabinet ministers.
“It’s unpatriotic to talk down modern, diverse, brilliant Britain in this way. And it has real-world consequences, fuelling hate crime and violent threats. The London mayoral election tomorrow will be close between Labour and the Tories. The choice is between Labour who are building a fairer, green, safer London for everyone – or the Tory candidate who wants to divide our communities and take London backwards.”
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Nick Lowles, the Chief Executive of Hope Not Hate, branded Mr Anderson’s comments “racist” at the time. “These comments are clearly Islamophobic, racist and extreme,” he said. “Not only are they a lie but they are stoking the flames of the Far Right and could put the Mayor of London in serious danger.”
A string of senior Conservatives publicly condemned the remarks at the time, including Tory Minister Nus Ghani who warned they were “foolish and dangerous”. Sir Sajid Javid, the former Cabinet minister, said it was a “ridiculous thing to say”, while Tory Minister Lord Ahmad said the comments were “divisive”.
Mr Anderson lost the whip after refusing to apologies for the comments. He defected to Reform UK, the former Brexit party, less than a month later.