Lee Anderson: Sunak under pressure to respond to Lee Anderson 'Islamist' row – BBC News

The Labour party’s chairwoman has told the BBC that comments directed at Sadiq Khan over the weekend were a result of Islamophobia.

Anneliese Dodds, who is also the Labour MP for Oxford East, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that comments made by Lee Anderson were, “clearly not to do with who Sadiq Khan is”, adding “it was a slur that was directed at him because of Islamophobia”.

Dodds said she has urged the Conservative Party chairs to take action against Islamophobia in the party several times over the past few years, saying: “This isn’t something that popped up five minutes ago, it is a continuing concern”.

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, a member of the House of Lords and a former co-chairwoman of the Conservative Party has said that Anderson’s comments were a “deliberate attack on Sadiq Khan”.

“It’s an attempt to stigmatise, stereotype and silence British Muslims and stop younger generations of British Muslims from entering public life,” she wrote on X.

She said that not following the standards they set for Labour would we hypocrisy: “The standards we hold Labour to on racism are the standards we should hold ourselves to on racism, to do anything else makes us hypocrites”.

The prime minister released a statement on Saturday after Tory MP Lee Anderson was suspended from his party.

Sunak did not directly address the remarks, but warned of an “explosion in prejudice and antisemitism” since the attacks by Hamas on Israel on 7 October.

“The events of recent weeks are but the latest in an emerging pattern which should not be tolerated,” he added.

“And in Parliament this week a very dangerous signal was sent that this sort of intimidation works.” The PM is now under increasing pressure to directly address Anderson’s comments.

The prime minister is set to speak to the media several times this morning, and will be asked the same questions that his deputy Oliver Dowden faced at the weekend.

Those questions are, firstly, does he think the comments were Islamophobic, or just insensitive?

And secondly, if Lee Anderson now apologised, might he be able to get the party whip back?

Until recently, Anderson wasn’t just a Conservative MP – he was deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. That’s a role appointed by Rishi Sunak, so there’s also a question of judgement for the prime minister there.

On Friday, former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson told GB News that “Islamists” had “got control” of the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

On Saturday, Anderson was suspended from the Conservative party after “refusing to apologise” for those comments.

Khan responded, describing Anderson’s remarks as, “Islamophobic, anti-Muslim and racist”.

The London mayor added he was “unclear why Rishi Sunak and members of his Cabinet” were not calling out the remarks or condemning the comments.

Posting his reaction to losing the whip on social media Anderson said: “Following a call with the chief whip, I understand the difficult position that I have put both he and the prime minister in with regard to my comments.

The Muslim Council of Britain said it welcomed Anderson’s suspension and added, “The Conservative Party has an Islamophobia problem. They need to own up to it.”

Tiffany Wertheimer

Live reporter

Good morning and welcome to our live page.

Lee Anderson, an MP for Ashfield since 2019, was suspended from the Conservative Party at the weekend, after he refused to apologise for his remarks.

As a reminder, Anderson said that “Islamists have got control of Khan and they’ve got control of London, and they’ve got control of Starmer as well.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the comments were “Islamophobic, anti-Muslim and racist”.

PM Rishi Sunak will chair a cabinet meeting in Yorkshire and the Humber today, and is facing calls to respond to the fury.

So stay with us as we bring you Sunak’s comments and all the reaction.