Lee Anderson has Tory whip withdrawn after saying Sadiq Khan ‘controlled by Islamists’

Simon Hart, the Chief Whip, says action taken following MP’s refusal to apologise for comments about London Mayor

Lee Anderson has had the Conservative whip withdrawn after claiming that “Islamists” have “got control” of Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London.
On Saturday afternoon, a spokesman for Simon Hart, the Chief Whip, said: “Following his refusal to apologise for comments made yesterday, the Chief Whip has suspended the Conservative whip from Lee Anderson MP.”
Speaking on GB News, Mr Anderson had said: “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.”
Nus Ghani, the industry minister, said the comments by the former Conservative Party deputy chairman were “foolish and dangerous”.
On Saturday, Ms Ghani, who is Muslim, said that she had “spoken to Lee Anderson” about the remarks. Posting on X, formerly Twitter, she said she had “called out Islamic extremism” in the past and been “attacked by hard-Left, far-Right and Islamists”.
“I don’t for one moment believe that Sadiq Khan is controlled by Islamists,” she said. “To say so, is both foolish and dangerous. Frankly, this is all so tiring.”
Earlier on Saturday, Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary, distanced himself from Mr Anderson’s words. However, Mr Shapps had appeared to defend his right to “speak his mind” when asked whether the remarks were acceptable.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, he said he had not seen the comments first-hand but added: “It’s certainly not the way I would put things.
“I think there are more concerns about the way that some of these [pro-Palestinian] protests have been taking place, in particular what we saw projected onto Parliament this week, but I certainly wouldn’t phrase things like that.”
The phrase “from the river to the sea” was beamed on to the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday as protesters gathered in Westminster to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Asked whether Mr Anderson should lose the Tory whip, Mr Shapps said the matter was “one for the party itself”.
Mr Anderson’s remarks prompted criticism from Labour and some Conservative MPs.
Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, wrote on X: “Lee Anderson’s words about Sadiq Khan are blatant Islamophobia. The Tories must not play games with this. It is too serious. Rishi Sunak must act.”
Sir Sajid Javid, a former Conservative home secretary  described Mr Anderson’s comments as “ridiculous”, and Gavin Barwell, the Tory peer who was Theresa May’s chief of staff, said the remarks were a “despicable slur”.
Jason Zadrozny, the Ashfield Independent council leader, said the town “deserves better” and described Mr Anderson as “an embarrassment”.