Lee Anderson’s four-word blast for Rishi Sunak after main Nigel Farage snub | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Lee Anderson has thrown down the gauntlet for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, telling him he needs to be “prepared and brave enough” to debate Nigel Farage previous to the final election.

And Reform UK’s first MP and solely MP has additionally slapped down critics of Mr Farage after the Brexiteer was branded each Islamophobic and antisemitic, hotly rejecting the claims.

Mr Anderson was placed on the spot by GB News presenter Patrick Christys, who requested him to justify Mr Farage’s demand to take part in a basic election debate with Rishi Sunak, given the previous Brexit Party chief shouldn’t be standing as a candidate in July 4’s basic election.

Mr Anderson replied: “I think as the Prime Minister Patrick, you should be prepared and brave enough to debate anybody and Nigel is a real threat.

“When it comes to debating in public, there’s nobody better in this country.

“With Rishi Sunak, you’ve got a fair point in that there’s probably only him and Keir Starmer that can be the PM in five weeks’ time.

“But you know, the great British public would love to see a debate with Nigel Farage, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer, they would love that, especially if it would on GB News.”

Ex-UKIP chief Mr Farage has additionally confronted scrutiny in latest days after telling Sky News’s Trevor Phillips many British Muslims “do not subscribe to British values”.

But Reform UK’s solely MP – who defected from the Conservatives in April – leapt to the defence of his social gathering’s honorary president when quizzed on the topic.

Mr Christys, who mentioned Mr Farage had “faced quite a lot of serious allegations”, defined: “He was simultaneously accused of being both antisemitic and Islamophobic, which many people regard as being quite the achievement if both of those things were true.

“Do you think that there is a bit of a racism cloud hanging over Reform?”

Ashfield MP Mr Anderson replied: “No, absolutely not fair. This is what the left in politics do all the time. When they start losing the debate on any single subject they always play the race card.

“It’s absolute nonsense. I know Nigel Farage quite well and I’d class him as a friend and he is not racist.

“I’ve been accused in the past of being racist and Islamophobic as yet nobody can provide a shred of evidence to do to prove that I was Islamophobic or, or racist or anything like that is absolute nonsense.

“They use this all the time, Patrick.” Mr Anderson was suspended as a Tory MP over remarks he made about London Mayor Sadiq Khan in February, additionally on GB News.

He 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.”

He had the Tory whip withdrawn after refusing the apologise for his remarks.

Reform UK chief Richard Tice has dismissed as “banter” a suggestion by Nigel Farage that he could possibly be open to a cope with the Tories.

Mr Farage steered “we might have a conversation” about what the Conservatives may provide Reform, however Mr Tice insisted he was joking and there’s no prospect of a pact.

Rishi Sunak has already dominated out a cope with Reform, which is placing stress on the Tories over points together with immigration coverage.