UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLee Anderson has launched a fresh attack on Sadiq Khan days after he claimed the London mayor was controlled by “Islamists”.The former deputy chair of the Conservatives was suspended by the party over the remarks. But ministers have still refused to say his comments were Islamophobic, stating only that they were wrong. Now Mr Anderson has accused the Labour mayor of enjoying protest scenes in Whitehall which cause disruption to parliament and cast the government “in a bad light”. His comments will pile more pressure on the government to distance themselves from the East Midlands MP. But he has also piled pressure on the Tory leadership by hinting he could defect to Nigel Farage’s Reform party and stand at the next general election. Tory MPs are already fearful of the impact Reform will have at the election. The party is not currently on course to take any seats at Westminster. But senior Conservatives are concerned they could win enough votes in key constituencies to hand victory to Labour. In his latest comments made during an interview with Channel 5 news, Mr Anderson was asked if he would take back last week’s remarks. He said he would “probably change my words slightly”. He added: “I think it’s all political, I think he almost enjoys seeing these scenes on Whitehall and on Parliament Square, which disrupts parliament, which puts my government in a bad light. I think he just turns a blind eye. It’s politics.”Mr Anderson lost the Tory whip at the weekend after he claimed “Islamists” had “got control” of the mayor of London. Pressed over whether he would join the right-wing Reform UK party, the former Labour councillor declined to comment but told GB News he had “been on a political journey”.He said: “You’ll say ‘Lee Anderson rules out/doesn’t rule out joining the Reform party’, so I’m making no comment on my future.”He also said he intended to stand at the next election.His comments came as senior Conservatives faced mounting pressure to describe his attack on Sadiq Khan as “Islamophobic”. Radio station LBC abruptly halted an interview with illegal immigration minister Michael Tomlinson, accusing him of failing to answer the question.In questions from broadcasters on Tuesday, Mr Tomlinson refused 11 times to explain why he thought Mr Anderson’s comments were “wrong”.His Home Office colleague Tom Pursglove also refused to use the term, telling Times Radio: “I don’t think Lee personally is racist but what he said was unacceptable.”The prime minister and others have condemned Mr Anderson’s comments, but have so far shied away from calling them “Islamophobic”.Labour has criticised that stance as “weak”, with one frontbencher saying the prime minister was “in hock” to “a strange coalition of MPs”.Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, said on Tuesday: “He [Anderson] should know better than that, he has been a senior figure within the Conservative Party.“But I think it speaks to Rishi Sunak’s weakness on this that his response has been wholly inadequate.”On Tuesday morning, Downing Street said the PM regarded Mr Anderson’s comments as wrong because they had conflated all Muslims with Islamist extremism.The row over Lee Anderson’s attack on Sadiq Khan has entered its fifth dayIn a separate move, James Cleverly, the home secretary, joined calls for Mr Anderson to apologise.The prime minister also declined to criticise former home secretary Suella Braverman, who claimed “the Islamists, the extremists and the antisemites are in charge now”.“I think that those comments were not about an individual in particular,” he said, adding that “it’s important that we call out” the kind of “unacceptable” scenes “we have been witnessing on our streets in recent times”.On Tuesday, Mr Tomlinson said he thought Ms Braverman was “not right” in her comments, but added he did not think she should have the whip withdrawn.Reform UK leader Richard Tice did not rule out opening the door to Mr Anderson after his suspension, saying MPs considering defection “have my number”.Later, GB News, where Mr Anderson works, revealed he held “one to one” talks with Mr Tice at a Holiday Inn off junction 28 of the M1 just 24 hours after he lost the Tory whip.The Liberal Democrats have tabled a so-called censure motion calling on parliament to rebuke Mr Anderson’s comments and demanding he come to the House and apologise. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailReform UK’s Rochdale by-election candidate has said George Galloway’s rival campaign is “whipping” people “into a frenzy” after he received a death threat on social media.Simon Danczuk, an ex-Labour MP for Rochdale who is now standing for the right-wing challenger party, received a string of direct messages on social media and a video where an online troll appears to threaten to gun him down.Speaking to the Independent, Mr Danczuk said he links the threats to Mr Galloway’s campaign: “It’s just outrageous really, and I do actually link it to the campaigning that Galloway’s been doing in Rochdale. He’s really whipping up division, and I think that’s really unfortunate”.In the footage, which has been posted on the Reform UK’s social media feed, the online creator is heard uttering expletives before threatening to “put one in his head”.Reform UK leader Richard Tice has said political leaders are running in fear of extremists (Joe Giddens/PA)In the string of direct messages, the individual tells Mr Danczuk: “How dare you send such letters in our Muslim [sic] community”, and says “I am going to assault you when I see you and I care not of the consequences”.Mr Danczuk said the comments were “disconcerting” and he took it “very seriously, not least because the guy said he didn’t mind the consequences.”The Reform UK candidate said he was talking to a senior Rochdale counsellor prior to receiving the threat, who remarked that “[Since] Galloway has come into town, particularly in terms of young people, he’s is really whipped them up into a frenzy around Gaza”.The threats come after a particularly chaotic by-election campaign in Rochdale. The Labour candidate, Mr Azhar Ali, was suspended from the party after he repeated a conspiracy theory that Israel had allowed the October 7 attack to take place. George Galloway, the candidate for the Workers’ Party, has used the Palestinian flag in his campaign materials and has targeted local Muslim voters by focusing on the issue of Gaza. He is currently the bookies favourite to win.Mr Galloway has also claimed that his campaign materials across Rochdale have been “ripped down and destroyed”.A video posted to social media last week appeared to show Mr Danczuk being told he was not allowed to take part in a local by-election hustings in the town.Mr Danczuk told the Independent that his wife has now been taken of the campaign trail for her own safety and the Reform party have sent Mr Danczuk two security personnel for the remainder of his campaign.The Worker’s Party of Britain and Greater Manchester police have been approached for comment. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailMP Lee Anderson has been suspended from the Conservative Party following controversial comments on GB News which have been branded Islamophobic and racist.Mr Anderson, who is paid £100,000 a year to be host on the TV channel, said on Friday: “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, and they’ve got control of Starmer as well.”“People are just turning up in their thousands, and doing anything they want, and they are laughing at our police. This stems with Khan, he’s actually given our capital city away to his mates.”The comments were made during a discussion about pro-Palestine protests that have been taking place in central London since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel and subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza.What has the criticism against Lee Anderson been?In response to Mr Anderson’s comments, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan called the comments “Islamophobic, anti-Muslim, and racist,” adding that “these comments pour fuel on the fire of anti-Muslim hatred.”The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) likewise slammed Mr Anderson’s comments for “endorsing common talking points that peddle conspiracy theories and Islamophobic tropes of alleged Muslim takeovers of our country.”“Former Deputy Chair, Lee Anderson’s claim that the Islamists have taken charge of London and of the Mayor is a disgusting slur that has no place in our public life.”Lee Anderson arrives at the official launch event for the ‘Popular Conservatism’ movementRishi Sunak, after sustained criticism for inaction, suspended Mr Anderson from the Conservative Party on 25 February, two days after his comments were made.The prime minister later criticised Mr Anderson’s comments, but stopped short of calling them Islamophobic or racist: “Lee’s comments weren’t acceptable, they were wrong. That’s why he’s had the whip suspended.”“Words matter, especially in the current environment where tensions are running high,” he added. “I think it’s incumbent on all of us to choose them carefully”.The MCB welcomed Mr Anderson’s suspension, but argued that more needs to be done: “The Conservative Party has an Islamophobia problem. They need to own up to it.”Speaking on Monday, Keir Starmer said that the PM “lacks the backbone to call this out for what it is”.“I think this is straightforward. It’s Islamophobia and the Prime Minister should call it out for what it is,” the Labour leader added. “The reason he won’t is because he is so weak”.In his own defence, now-independent MP Lee Anderson shared a statement via GB News: “When you think you are right you should never apologise because to do so would be a sign of weakness. My words may have been clumsy but my words were borne out of sheer frustration at what is happening to our beautiful capital city.”Mr Anderson has indicated that he intends to run again in his seat of Ashfield whether a Conservative party member or not. He has also refused to rule out whether he could now join right-wing Reform UK party, saying that he’s “been on a political journey”. More