Lee Anderson says public supports him over Sadiq
Khan comments
Tory suspended for saying Islamists have control of
London mayor again refuses to rule out joining Reform UK
Peter
Walker and Ben Quinn
Tue 27 Feb
2024 13.24 EST
Lee
Anderson has said he did nothing wrong in saying Sadiq Khan was under the
control of Islamists, claiming he had received overwhelming support from the
public and MPs over comments that lost him the Conservative whip.
In his
first media interviews beyond GB News, which employs him as a presenter, the
former Tory vice-chair said that when he accused the London mayor, who is a
Muslim, of giving London “to his mates”, those “in the real world” backed him.
Anderson
again refused to rule out defecting to Reform UK or contesting the next
election as an independent, saying he would nonetheless definitely stand again
for his Ashfield seat.
GB News
reported on Tuesday that Anderson had met Reform’s leader, Richard Tice, at a
service station hotel in Derbyshire on Sunday for one-to-one talks.
Anderson
denied he had singled out Khan because he is Muslim, telling ITV News: “I
didn’t think what religion he was, I just thought, I just think he’s a useless
mayor who panders to this certain section of people.”
The media
were, Anderson added, “suggesting that I picked on him because he’s Muslim and
that’s, that’s a terrible thing to do”.
Earlier on
Tuesday, Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson said it was “unacceptable to
conflate all Muslims with Islamist extremism or the extreme ideology of
Islamism”.
Anderson
said that while his words about Khan on GB News on Friday has been “a little
bit clumsy”, he did not accept any fault. Asked by ITV if he believed his
comments had been wrong in any way, the MP replied: “No, not at all.”
Saying he
had received “lots of support privately” from Conservative MPs, Anderson said
the public also backed him: “I’ve got an email pinging in every 10 seconds in
support, from not just my constituents, from all around the country. I think
I’m on the right side of the argument on this – and history will judge me on
this.”
In another
interview, with Channel 5 News, Anderson refused to accept there was a
difference between arguing that Khan had not properly controlled the policing
of pro-Palestine demonstrations and that he was controlled by Islamists.
“Maybe,
maybe to you and the media, but have a walk around the real world, outside this
bubble, and it speaks to people in my patch, who actually agree with what I’ve
said,” Anderson said.
He argued
that Sunak had made a mistake in removing the whip from him, but that he
accepted the prime minister’s decision, telling ITV: “I don’t hold any malice
towards him. He’s got a job. He is the boss, he’s the manager.”
Saying he
was “not prepared to discuss my political journey beyond this week”, Anderson
refused to rule out joining Reform, the party formed by Nigel Farage, while
telling Channel 5: “I will tell you this: whatever happens, my name will be on
the ballot paper come the next election.”
Tice has
previously said Anderson’s comments about Khan were “supported by millions of
British citizens”. Reform’s deputy leader, Ben Habib, said any Tory MP wishing
to join would need to explain themselves and the party would need to be sure
they were “ideologically sound”.
Anderson’s
vehemence, coupled with his fondness for regular media appearances, not least
on GB News, which pays him £100,000 a year, presents No 10 with an continuing
controversy, one that threatens to split the Conservatives.
While some
Tories have been open in condemning Anderson for words they described as
Islamophobic, others in the party argued he was justified in highlighting the
wider issue of Islamist militancy.
Sunak and
Downing Street have faced accusations of ignoring structural anti-Muslim
feeling in the Conservatives by declining, before the spokesperson’s comments
on Wednesday morning, to state whether Anderson’s comments had been potentially
prejudiced.
Earlier on
Tuesday, the illegal migration minister, Michael Tomlinson, sent out on the
morning broadcast round, had an interview on LBC radio abruptly terminated when
the interviewer, Nick Ferrari, lost patience with his repeated refusal to
elaborate on Anderson’s fault beyond saying his words had been “wrong”.
No 10 has
indicated that Anderson would regain the Conservative whip if he apologised, a
course of action he was urged to take by James Cleverly, the home secretary.
“I think
Lee should apologise, what he said wasn’t accurate, it wasn’t fair, but the
chief whip and the prime minister have made the party position absolutely clear
on this,” Cleverly said during a trip to the US.
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