Tory Party Suspends Lee Anderson Over ‘Islamist’ Claim

MP for Ashfield Lee Anderson in an undated file photo. PA

MP Lee Anderson was suspended by the Conservative Party on Saturday after he accused London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer of being controlled by Islamists.

It comes after Labour called for Mr. Anderson and former Prime Minister Liz Truss to lose the Conservative whip over their recent media appearances.

The decision to suspend Mr. Anderson’s whip was taken following his “refusal to apologise” for the remarks made on Friday, a spokesperson for chief whip Simon Hart said on Saturday.

“Following his refusal to apologise for comments made yesterday, the chief whip has suspended the Conservative whip from Lee Anderson MP,” the spokesperson said.

The outspoken MP for Ashfield, who also has a show on GB News, said he accepts that the party has “no option” but to suspend him.

“Following a call with the chief whip, I understand the difficult position that I have put both he and the Prime Minister [Rishi Sunak] in with regard to my comments,” he said.

“I fully accept that they had no option but to suspend the whip in these circumstances.”

The MP said he will “continue to support the government’s efforts to call out extremism in all its forms—be that anti-Semitism or Islamophobia.”

‘Cowardly Khan’

Mr. Anderson, who was Tory deputy chair until a few weeks ago, made the controversial remarks on GB News when he blamed Mr. Khan and Sir Keir for scenes in and out of Parliament on Wednesday during a debate on whether to call for a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza.

The debate descended into chaos after Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle deviated from normal procedure by selecting and prioritising Labour’s amendment on what was supposed to be a Scottish National Party opposition day debate, citing security for MPs as part of the reasons for his decision.

Outside of Parliament, slogans, including the controversial chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” were beamed onto the Elizabeth Tower.

The Metropolitan Police, which was criticised for not intervening, said the use of the words was not a criminal offence in this context.

Laying blame on the London mayor, who shares responsibility for policing in the capital with the home secretary, Mr. Anderson asserted, “We’ve got a very cowardly Khan running London.”

He went on to comment on former Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s article in which she said “the Islamists, the extremists, and the anti-Semites are in charge,” saying, “I don’t actually believe that these Islamists have gotten control of our country, but what I do believe is they’ve got control of Khan, and they’ve got control of London, and they’ve got control of Starmer as well.”

He accused Sir Keir of crumbling under pressure, alluding to Labour’s amendment that led to the shambolic debate.

He also accused Mr. Khan of giving London “away to his mates,” and asserted Sir Keir Starmer is “more interested in getting into No. 10 and giving our country away than actually looking after our country.”

‘Islamophobic’

Mr. Anderson was accused of being “Islamophobic” over the remarks, with criticisms apparently focused largely on his assertion about Mr. Khan.

Mr. Khan told Sky News the comments “are Islamophobic, are anti-Muslim, and are racist.”

He said the comments “pour fuel on the fire of anti-Muslim hatred,” and accused ministers of “condoning this racism” by remaining silent.

“I’m afraid it confirms to many people across the country that there’s a hierarchy when it comes to racism,” he claimed.

He also rejected the idea that the police can ban protests, calling it “a really slippery slope.”

Mr. Anderson’s comments have also caused some anger among Conservative ranks, particularly among Muslims.

Former Cabinet minister Sajid Javid, a secular Muslim, said on social media platform X, “A ridiculous thing to say.”

Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said, “Totally disagree with these divisive views and language, both as a born Londoner proud of our city and its rich diversity and as a Conservative of over 30 years standing.”

Business minister Nus Ghani called the rhetoric “both foolish and dangerous,” saying she had “called out Islamic extremism” and “been attacked by hard left, far right, and Islamists,” and doesn’t “for one moment believe that Sadiq Khan is controlled by Islamists.”

Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Saturday, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said he “wouldn’t phrase things like that.”

He declined to say whether the MP for Ashfield is a good representative voice for the Conservative Party, saying only that “we live in a democracy where people are allowed to speak their mind and Lee Anderson, I think, is famed for speaking his mind.”

Commenting on X, politics professor and commentator Matt Goodwin said Britons should not be distracted from what he said is “the key point” since Oct 7, when the Israel–Hamas war broke out.

“We have a major problem with radical Islamism in Britain. Do not let the political [and] media class take us back to the ridiculous gaslighting that followed the murder of Sir David Amess,” he said.

Labour Call to Remove Whip From Truss

After Mr. Anderson’s whip was suspended, Labour Party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds also claimed his comments were “unambiguously Islamophobic, divisive, and damaging.”

She went on to say that the Tories should have suspended him even if he had apologised.

“It is right that he has had the whip removed but the suggestion that Lee Anderson would have retained the confidence of the prime minister, simply if he apologised, is deeply concerning. These views are wrong, full stop, and there shouldn’t be conditions on removing them from your party,” she said.

Ms. Dodds said the prime minister needs to do more to tackle “extremists in his party,” accusing Ms. Truss and Ms. Braverman of “unashamedly giving voice to hateful commentary and conspiracy theories.”

She reiterated Labour’s call for Mr. Sunak to remove the Conservative whip from Ms. Truss “for her egregious and embarrassing comments about our country on the international stage,” referring to remarks she made on Thursday at the U.S. Conservative Political Action Conference.

Speaking to Steve Bannon, presenter of Real America’s Voice and President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, Ms. Truss blamed “the economic establishment” for her short-lived premiership and said people “aren’t happy” about “the deep state” and “the bureaucratic establishment.”

But she was mostly criticised for not challenging Mr. Bannon when he called anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson, who is often described by media outlets as being on the “far right,” a “hero” for his effort in highlighting Muslim grooming gangs in Britain.

In a statement on X, Sir Keir didn’t address Mr. Anderson’s assertion about him, but said, “It’s right that Lee Anderson has lost the whip after his appalling racist and Islamophobic outburst against Sadiq Khan.”

“But what does it say about the prime minister’s judgment 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,“ he wrote, saying Mr Sunak ”needs to get a grip and take on the extremists in his party.”

PA Media contributed to this report.