LONDON
\nA Conservative MP in the UK is embroiled in controversy after claiming that Islamists have \u201cgot control\u201d of Sadiq Khan, the Muslim mayor of London.
\nLee Anderson made the comments in an interview on the GB News channel, and has since faced condemnation and calls for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to expel him from the governing Conservative Party.
\nAnderson told the channel on Friday, referring to major pro-Palestinian protests in the capital: \u201cI don\u2019t actually believe that these Islamists have got control of our country, but what I do believe is they\u2019ve got control of Khan and they\u2019ve got control of London.
\n\u201cAgain, this stems with Khan \u2014 he\u2019s actually given our capital city away to his mates. If you let Labour in through the back door, expect more of this and expect our cities to be taken over by these lunatics.\u201d
\nHis comments follow similar claims by former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who wrote in the Daily Telegraph that \u201cthe Islamists, the extremists and the antisemites are in charge now,\u201d the BBC reported.
\nAnderson\u2019s comments about Khan have been condemned by senior opposition figures. Labour Party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds described the remarks as \u201cunambiguously racist and Islamophobic.\u201d On X, she called for Sunak to sack Anderson \u201cimmediately,\u201d Sky News reported.
\nJonathan Ashworth, Labour\u2019s shadow paymaster general, called for the same measure, describing Anderson\u2019s comments as \u201cvile\u201d and \u201cappalling racism and Islamophobia.\u201d
\nAshworth also referred to former Prime Minister Liz Truss, who recently took aim at the \u201cdeep state\u201d in an appearance at a US conservative conference.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s time to show some leadership and take on the extremists in your party,\u201d Ashworth said in a letter to Sunak. \u201cLiz Truss and Lee Anderson must no longer sit as Conservative MPs. Their words cannot go unchecked or unchallenged.\u201d
\nFigures within Anderson\u2019s own party have been divided in response to his comments. Former Chancellor Sajid Javid described the claims as \u201ca ridiculous thing to say\u201d in a post on X.
\nFormer Conservative MP Gavin Barwell said Anderson had made a \u201cdespicable slur on Sadiq Khan and Londoners,\u201d The Independent reported.
\nBarwell added: \u201cIn his first speech as PM, Rishi Sunak said he would \u2018unite our country.\u2019 If he allows the likes of Anderson to spread hate and division like this, those words will be revealed as a sham.\u201d
\nKhan, who has served as mayor of London since 2016, is the first Muslim to hold the position.
\nPro-Palestinian protests, which have been held weekly in London since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict last October, have angered some quarters of the Conservative Party.
\nIn response to the furore surrounding Anderson\u2019s comments, a Conservative Party source said: \u201cLee was simply making the point that the mayor, in his capacity as police and crime commissioner for London, has abjectly failed to get a grip on the appalling Islamist marches we have seen in London recently.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON A Conservative MP in the UK is embroiled in controversy after claiming that Islamists have \u201cgot control\u201d of Sadiq Khan, the Muslim mayor of London. Lee Anderson made the comments in an interview on the GB News channel, and has since faced condemnation and calls for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to expel him from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389470,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-389467","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n