Angry Tory MPs claim suspending Lee Anderson is 'final nail in coffin' for party
Rishi Sunak faces a backlash from Tory backbenchers after he suspended Lee Anderson for his vile attack on London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
WhatsApp messages shared between panicked right-wingers show fears the decision to suspend Mr Anderson is the "final nail in the coffin" for the struggling Tories. The Ashfield MP is accused of racism and Islamophobia after he claimed Mr Khan is controlled by Islamists.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper this morning repeatedly refused to brand Mr Anderson's attack racist - instead repeatedly branding it wrong. But Tory HQ hasn't ruled out letting the controversial MP return to the fold.
The Muslim Council of Britain has called on the PM to launch an investigation into "structural Islamophobia" within the Tory Party. It said anti-Muslim sentiment in the party was "on display this week". Mr Anderson was suspended on Saturday after making the remarks about Mr Khan the previous evening.
WhatsApp messages shared with podcast Politics at Jack and Sam's reveals Tories complaining about the impact of the suspension. After backbencher Julie Marson shared a story showing Nigel Farage had urged Mr Anderson to join Reform UK, MP Tom Hunt responded: "This isn't good at all."
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Meanwhile Jill Mortimer said she'd been told by constituents that they wouldn't vote Tory again after Mr Anderson was suspended. "Lee Anderson's suspension is the final nail in the party's coffin," she said a voter had told her in an email.
The alarmed messages were shared in the '109 group' of Tory MPs who were first elected in 2019. Former Home Office minister Sarah Dines said she'd had "loads" of messages from "random" constituents voicing support for Mr Anderson.
And Sarah Atherton said she'd raised concerns about the debacle "due to an instant backlash from members". Darlington MP Peter Gibson then said his inbox is "very positive for Lee".
On Sunday Deputy PM Oliver Dowden suggested Mr Anderson would have got away with a slap on the wrist if he'd apologised. He told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that he'd have kept the Tory whip if he'd said sorry.
And this morning Transport Secretary Mark Harper left the door open for a possible return to the Tory party for Lee Anderson. Asked what he needs to say to be welcomed back, the Cabinet minister told Sky News: "I hope he will reflect on what he said and he will retract those comments and apologise...
"But I'm not going to tell the chief whip how to do his job, that's for him." Mr Harper continued: "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." The Transport Secretary declined to say whether Mr Anderson's remarks were racist despite being pressed repeatedly, reiterating only that they were "wrong".
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