Tory minister suggests Lee Anderson may return regardless of ‘repugnant’ Sadiq Khan rant | EUROtoday

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The deputy prime minister has refused to rule out Lee Anderson having the Tory whip restored regardless of a senior Conservative calling Mr Anderson’s remarks “repugnant”.

Oliver Dowden mentioned on Sunday that he “certainly would not rule out” the potential of Mr Anderson coming back from his suspension over an anti-Muslim rant on GB News.

But Robert Buckland, the Tory former justice secretary, mentioned Mr Anderson had “crossed a line” and that his feedback have been “repugnant”.

In an look on GB News, Mr Anderson mentioned: “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’s actually given our capital city away to his mates.”

A Conservative supply initially backed Mr Anderson, however after intense media stress and the controversial MP’s refusal to apologise, the celebration suspended him. He will now sit as an unbiased MP.

Rishi Sunak has to date failed to deal with Mr Anderson’s feedback made on Friday or surging Islamophobia throughout Britain, regardless of talking publicly a couple of rise in “prejudice and antisemitism”.

And on Sunday Mr Dowden mentioned Mr Anderson, who was deputy Tory chairman till final month, had merely “used the wrong words”.

“I don’t believe that Lee Anderson said those remarks intending to be Islamophobic,” Mr Dowden advised the BBC.

Mr Buckland was amongst a number of senior Tories crucial of Mr Anderson’s remarks, telling BBC Radio 4 on Sunday that they have been “racist and repugnant”.

“This man has clearly crossed a line,” Mr Buckland added.

Labour mentioned it was “concerned” about Mr Dowden’s suggestion that the Tories may give Mr Anderson the whip again.

Shadow paymaster common Jonathan Ashworth has known as on Mr Sunak to verify that no “deal or undertakings” have been supplied that might see him sit as a Tory MP once more.

In a letter to the prime minister, he mentioned: “The removal of the Conservative whip from Lee Anderson was the correct decision after his disgusting racist and Islamophobic remarks aimed at the Mayor of London.

“I was so concerned to see your Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden tell GB News this morning that he ‘certainly wouldn’t rule that out’ when asked if Mr Anderson could have the whip returned.

“This extraordinary suggestion comes less than 24 hours after his removal from the Conservative Party and with no apology or retraction having yet been offered. It will inevitably lead to concerns that the withdrawal of the whip was merely a temporary measure taken in response to media criticism, and that the possibility of Mr Anderson being allowed back into the Tory Party is being kept on the table.”

He added: “Can you confirm that no deal or undertakings have been offered to Mr Anderson by you or anyone speaking on behalf of the Conservative Party that would see him have the Tory whip returned?”

In a statement on Saturday night, Mr Sunak highlighted events “of recent weeks”, together with pro-Palestinian protests throughout the nation for the reason that 7 October assaults.

“The events of recent weeks are but the latest in an emerging pattern which should not be tolerated,” Mr Sunak mentioned. But Mr Sunak has not but responded to Mr Anderson’s feedback.

Sir Keir Starmer mentioned it was proper that Mr Anderson was suspended from the celebration over the “appalling racist and Islamophobic outburst”. The Labour chief additionally challenged Mr Sunak over wider Islamophobia within the Conservative Party.

“What does it say about the prime minister’s judgment that he made Lee Anderson deputy chairman of his party?” Sir Keir mentioned.

He added: “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.”

It got here as Mr Khan condemned the “moral rot” of anti-Muslim hatred within the Conservative Party. The London mayor mentioned Mr Anderson’s “belated” suspension confirmed that “Muslims are fair game as far as the Conservative Party is concerned”.

And on Sunday the Muslim Council of Britain wrote to the chairman of the Conservative Party demanding an investigation into “structural Islamophobia” within the celebration.

In a letter to Richard Holden, the council mentioned it welcomes the elimination of the whip from Mr Anderson however alleged Islamophobia “persists” within the celebration.

Zara Mohammed, secretary common of the Muslim Council of Britain, mentioned: “Our view is that the Islamophobia in the (Conservative) Party is institutional, tolerated by the leadership and seen as acceptable by great swathes of the party membership.”

The letter additionally criticised the Conservatives for eradicating the whip from Mr Anderson solely after he refused to apologise.

It mentioned: “We note that he (Mr Anderson) was only censured for refusing to apologise, not for making the racist remarks in the first place. We also note that the whip was withdrawn only after there was widespread condemnation across the board, while the Prime Minister and the rest of the Cabinet remained silent.”