The Daily Telegraph - Saturday
Anderson sparks Labour backlash over claims Islamists have control of London
CHief PoLitiCAL
A TOP Conservative MP sparked a furious backlash from the Labour Party last night as he claimed Islamists had “got control” of Sadiq Khan and London following a wave of weekly pro-Pales- tinian protests over the war in Gaza.
Lee Anderson, a former deputy chairman of the Tory Party, was responding to an article for by Suella Braverman, the former Home Secretary, in which she wrote “the Islamists, the extremists and the anti-Semites are in charge” of the country.
She made the remarks after the Commons Speaker allowed a vote on a Labour amendment, leading to accusations that he had given in to extremists.
In an interview with GB News, Mr Anderson said: “I don’t actually believe that these Islamists have got control of our country, but what I do believe is that they’ve got control of Khan; they’ve got control of London. He’s actually given our capital city away to his mates… If you let Labour in through the back door, expect more of this, expect our cities to be taken over by these lunatics.”
Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said: “Divisive and dangerous. The Conservatives have gone beyond the dogwhistle playbook of previous mayoral elections to outright racism and Islamophobia. Enough is enough.”
A London Labour source said: “This sort of vile Islamophobia is exactly how the Tories campaigned against Sadiq Khan in 2016. Surely they will not tolerate it this time round?”
The Home Secretary rejected Mrs Braverman’s claim that Islamists are in charge of Britain. James Cleverly said he “can understand her frustration” but insisted that we live in a “high-functioning democracy”.
Mrs Braverman’s comments were also criticised by the London Mayor, who said she was “doing her best to outflank Enoch Powell”, the Right-wing former Conservative MP famous for his “Rivers of Blood” speech.
Lord Mann, the Government’s anti-Semitism tsar, also criticised Mrs Braverman, claiming her inaction while in office was “part of the problem”.
Mrs Braverman declined to respond to the criticism by Mr Khan and Lord Mann. She was sacked by Mr Sunak in November after she accused police of “playing favourites” with pro-Palestinian protesters.