Rishi Sunak condemns Lee Anderson – as suspended MP doubles down on criticism of mayor Sadiq Khan

Published

1 year ago

February 26, 2024

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Rishi Sunak has condemned Lee Anderson’s attack on London mayor Sadiq Khan as unacceptable and “wrong” – as the suspended MP said his words were “borne out of sheer frustration”.

Mr Anderson, the former deputy party chair of the Conservative Party, was suspended at the weekend after he refused to apologise for claiming “Islamists” had achieved “control” over London and that Mr Khan had “given our capital city away to his mates”.

On Monday, the now independent MP for Ashfield stood by his position and refused to apologise – while also describing his words as “clumsy”.

Politics latest: Tories label MP’s suspension ‘final nail in the party’s coffin’

Speaking on BBC Radio York, the prime minister denied the Tory party has “Islamophobic tendencies” and said: “Lee’s comments weren’t acceptable, they were wrong. That’s why he’s had the whip suspended.”

He added: “Words matter, especially in the current environment where tensions are running high. I think it’s incumbent on all of us to choose them carefully.”

But speaking to reporters later on Monday, the prime minister repeatedly refused to call Mr Anderson’s remarks Islamophobic.

‘Clearly racist’

Mr Khan said he was “bewildered why Rishi Sunak and the cabinet are refusing to call this out”.

The London mayor added: “They should say what the problem is. The problem is you have a senior Conservative saying things that are clearly racist, anti-Muslim and Islamophobic.

“That is leading to an environment where anti-Muslim crime is spiralling and what they are doing is pouring petrol on the flames of Islamophobia.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also attacked Mr Sunak for being “too weak” on the issue.

He told broadcasters: “This is really basic. Islamophobia is something which should be called out by every political leader and the prime minister isn’t calling it out because he’s too weak.

“I don’t think anybody can make excuses for this prime minister and say it’s all too difficult. It’s very straightforward.

“He lacks the backbone to call this out for what it is, because he’s leading a divided party, a chaotic party, and it’s no wonder people have just had enough of this after 14 years and desperately want change.”

Mr Sunak’s statement to local radio was the first time he has directly addressed the comments made by Mr Anderson.

The MP told GB News last week: “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.”

Mr Anderson’s comments sparked condemnation from across the political divide, including from Tory peer Baroness Warsi, who said she was “really disturbed by where the Conservative Party has gone” and that “anti-Muslim racism is being used as an electoral campaign tool”.

‘My words were clumsy’

In a fresh statement published by GB News on Monday, Mr Anderson said his words were “clumsy” and “borne out of sheer frustration at what is happening to our beautiful capital city”.

However, he doubled down on his refusal to apologise, saying: “If you are wrong, apologising is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength.

“But when you think you are right you should never apologise because to do so would be a sign of weakness.”

He said: “Seeing the words ‘From the river to the sea’ on [the] Elizabeth Tower made me feel sick to the pit of my stomach.”

Repeating his opposition to the mayor, Mr Anderson said: “Khan has stood by and allowed our police to turn a blind eye to the disgusting scenes around parliament.

“It is not my intention to upset anyone, I believe in free speech and have 100% respect for people of all backgrounds.

“The vast majority of Muslims are not Islamists in the same way the vast majority of Christians are not conservatives or socialists.

“My words may have been clumsy but my words were borne out of sheer frustration at what is happening to our beautiful capital city.

“We’ve got to get Khan out at the elections in May.”

He added: “Sadiq Khan is failing London across the board. On transport with ULEZ and the strikes which he pledged to end. On knife crime and violence against women and girls. The list is endless.

“He’s more interested in virtue signalling to his trendy lefty mates by renaming train lines and street signs at a cost of millions of pounds rather than in delivering for our capital city which should be the greatest city on Earth.”

Mr Anderson’s statement, published by GB News, was drawn up on Saturday, shortly after he made his provocative comments to the channel.

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However, it was not released because of Mr Anderson’s refusal to apologise to the London mayor as requested by Tory chief whip Simon Hart.

Mr Sunak said it was “incumbent on all of us, especially those elected to parliament, not to inflame our debates in a way that’s harmful to others”.

“Words matter, especially in the current environment where tensions are running high and I think it’s incumbent on all of us to choose them carefully, he said.

Elsewhere in his interview with local radio, Mr Sunak rejected suggestions his party had a problem with Islamophobia.

Rishi Sunk has tried to draw a line under Lee Anderson – but the row could run on

Tamara Cohen

Political correspondent

@tamcohen

Rishi Sunak this morning tried to close down a row over suspended Tory MP Lee Anderson, describing his comments as “wrong” and saying MPs shouldn’t “inflame our debates in a way that’s harmful to others”.

Mr Anderson – the often controversial MP, who was a surprise pick as the party’s deputy chairman last year – claimed on GB News last week that “Islamists” had “got control” of Labour mayor Sadiq Khan.

The prime minister today went further than his deputy, Oliver Dowden, over the weekend – but would not say whether he thought the remarks were racist, as Mr Khan himself and some Tories have.

It’s an attempt to draw a line under the row, allowing his colleagues to claim Mr Sunak acted “decisively”.

But there are several reasons this could run and run.

One is that Mr Sunak has touched on one of his party’s fault lines, with some 2019 MPs defending Mr Anderson in their WhatsApp groups – although other senior figures are horrified.

Mr Anderson himself, who could have avoided suspension by apologising, could stoke it further – he is already tweeting about people’s support for him, and has a TV platform to make further noise.

Mr Sunak has been trying in recent days to make a point about protests that are “hijacked by extremists” who he says are undermining democracy by intimidation.

Tory sources admit Mr Anderson’s comments are particularly unhelpful in this context. With another vote on Gaza on the cards, tensions will be running high on all sides.

The prime minister said it was “not a fair characterisation at all” to argue he had taken a tough stance on antisemitism but had overlooked Islamophobia in his party – saying racism or prejudice “any kind” was “completely unacceptable” and “not British”.

Earlier today, a cabinet minister appeared to leave the door open to Mr Anderson regaining the Tory whip, which allows him to sit as a Conservative MP in the Commons.

‘Reflection needed’

Asked what Mr Anderson needed to say to be welcomed back, Transport Secretary Mark Harper told Kay Burley on Sky News he should “reflect on what he said” and “retract those comments and apologise”.

“He’s contributed a lot in the past. I’d like to see him be able to contribute to the Conservative Party in the future,” he said.

While a number of senior Tories have criticised Mr Anderson for his comments, Mr Harper was the second cabinet minister to refuse to say whether the remarks were “racist”.

Yesterday, Mr Dowden backed the decision to suspend the Ashfield MP but refused to say whether he was racist.

WhatsApp messages leaked to Sky News reveal some Tory MPs regard Mr Anderson’s suspension as a mistake.

The WhatsApp forum is called the “109 group” of Tory MPs elected in 2019.

Jill Mortimer, the Conservative MP for Hartlepool, shared messages from constituents saying they would not vote Tory again and that “Lee Anderson’s suspension is the final nail in the party’s coffin”.

UK

Nationwide police operation on grooming gangs announced

Published

1 hour ago

June 16, 2025

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Nationwide police operation on grooming gangs announced

A nationwide police operation to track down those in grooming gangs has been announced by the Home Office.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) will target those who have sexually exploited children as part of a grooming gang, and will investigate cases that were not previously progressed.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a statement: “The vulnerable young girls who suffered unimaginable abuse at the hands of groups of adult men have now grown into brave women who are rightly demanding justice for what they went through when they were just children.

“Not enough people listened to them then. That was wrong and unforgivable. We are changing that now.

“More than 800 grooming gang cases have already been identified by police after I asked them to look again at cases which had closed too early.

“Now we are asking the National Crime Agency to lead a major nationwide operation to track down more perpetrators and bring them to justice.”

The NCA will work in partnership with police forces around the country and specialist officers from the Child Sexual Exploitation Taskforce, Operation Hydrant – which supports police forces to address all complex and high-profile cases of child sexual abuse – and the Tackling Organised Exploitation Programme.

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer announced a national inquiry into child sex abuse on Saturday, ahead of the release of a government-requested audit into the scale of grooming gangs across the country, which concluded a nationwide probe was necessary.

The prime minister previously argued a national inquiry was not necessary, but changed his view following an audit into group-based child sexual abuse led by Baroness Casey, set to be published next week.

Ms Cooper is set to address parliament on Monday about the findings of the near 200-page report, which is expected to warn that white British girls were “institutionally ignored for fear of racism”.

One person familiar with the report said it details the institutional failures in treating young girls and cites a decade of lost action from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), set up in 2014 to investigate grooming gangs in Rotherham.

The report is also expected to link illegal immigration with the exploitation of young girls.

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said on Saturday that Sir Keir should recognise “he made a mistake and apologise for six wasted months”.

Speaking to Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Chancellor Rachel Reeves refused to say if the government will apologise for dismissing calls for a national public inquiry into grooming gangs.

She said: “What is the most important thing here? It is the victims, and it’s not people’s hurt feelings about how they have been spoken about.”

UK

Career spy Blaise Metreweli to become first woman to head MI6

Published

1 hour ago

June 16, 2025

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Career spy Blaise Metreweli to become first woman to head MI6

Career spy Blaise Metreweli will become the first woman to head MI6 in a “historic appointment”, the prime minister has announced.

She will take over from Sir Richard Moore as the 18th Chief, also known as “C”, when he steps down in the autumn.

“The historic appointment of Blaise Metreweli comes at a time when the work of our intelligence services has never been more vital,” Sir Keir Starmer said in a statement released on Sunday night.

“The United Kingdom is facing threats on an unprecedented scale – be it aggressors who send their spy ships to our waters or hackers whose sophisticated cyber plots seek to disrupt our public services.”

Of the other main spy agencies, GCHQ is also under female command for the first time.

Anne Keast-Butler took on the role in 2023, while MI5 has previously twice been led by a woman.

Until now, a female spy chief had only headed MI6 – also known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) – in the James Bond movies.

Dame Judi Dench held the fictional role – called “M” in the films instead of “C” – between 1995 and 2015.

Ms Metreweli currently serves as “Q”, one of four director generals inside MI6.

The position – also made famous by the James Bond films, with the fictional “Q” producing an array of spy gadgets – means she is responsible for technology and innovation.

Ms Metreweli, a Cambridge graduate, joined MI6 in 1999.

Unlike the outgoing chief, who spent some of his service as a regular diplomat in the foreign office, including as ambassador to Turkey, she has spent her entire career as an intelligence officer.

Much of that time was dedicated to operational roles in the Middle East and Europe.

Ms Metreweli, who is highly regarded by colleagues, also worked as a director at MI5.

In a statement, she said she was “proud and honoured to be asked to lead my service”.

“MI6 plays a vital role – with MI5 and GCHQ – in keeping the British people safe and promoting UK interests overseas,” she said.

“I look forward to continuing that work alongside the brave officers and agents of MI6 and our many international partners.”

Sir Richard said: “Blaise is a highly accomplished intelligence officer and leader, and one of our foremost thinkers on technology. I am excited to welcome her as the first female head of MI6.”

UK

Woman, 23, dies after falling in water at beauty spot in Scottish Highlands

Published

1 hour ago

June 16, 2025

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Woman, 23, dies after falling in water at beauty spot in Scottish Highlands

A woman has died after falling into the water at a popular beauty spot in the Scottish Highlands.

The 23-year-old had fallen into the water in the Rogie Falls area of Wester Ross.

Police Scotland confirmed emergency services attended the scene after being called at 1.45pm on Saturday.

“However, [she] was pronounced dead at the scene,” a spokesperson said.

“There are no suspicious circumstances and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”

Rogie Falls are a series of waterfalls on the Black Water, a river in Ross-shire in the Highlands of Scotland. They are a popular attraction for tourists on Scotland’s North Coast 500 road trip.