Police assess Tory MP Lee Anderson's comments after hate speech claims

28 February 2024 , 22:29

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Lee Anderson (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Police are "assessing" a report of hate speech made against MP Lee Anderson after he accused the mayor of London of being controlled by Islamists.

Scotland Yard said a report was received a day after the former Tory deputy chairman made the remarks that unleashed an Islamophobia row. The Ashfield MP was stripped of the Conservative whip over the weekend after he claimed that "Islamists" had "got control" of Sadiq Khan and that the first Muslim London mayor had "given away our capital" to such extremists.

The Met does not provide information on named individuals who have not been charged with an offence but after an article in The Sun newspaper, the force said on Wednesday: "A report was made to police on Saturday, 24 February. Officers are assessing this report."

The assessment could result in a full investigation or a dismissal because of a lack of sufficient evidence. Mr Anderson's comments sparked outrage across the political spectrum.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called Lee Anderson’s comments about the London mayor "wrong" (PA)

But the MP, who is now sitting in the House of Commons as an independent, has continued to refuse to apologise and said Rishi Sunak made a "mistake" in suspending him. He has not ruled out standing for Reform UK, formerly known as the Brexit Party, at the next election.

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GB News, the right-wing broadcaster that pays Mr Anderson a £100,000 salary, on top of his £86,584 MP pay, to present a show on its network, reported that he met Reform leader Richard Tice on Sunday, only 24 hours after being deprived of his Tory affiliation in the Commons.

Appearing on GB News on Monday evening, Mr Anderson said he will not apologise until the day he dies. “I’m not sorry because I stand by my words. It’s not racist to call out Islamists,” he said.

The politician argued the Conservatives “could have given me a little bit more backing” as he was willing to show “a little bit of contrition”. But he added: “I didn't directly apologise to Mayor Khan, which I'm not going to, not while I've got a breath in my body because the comments I made weren't racist at all.”

Senior Conservatives have described Mr Anderson's attack on Mr Khan as "wrong" but have so far stopped short of describing them as "Islamophobic". The Labour London mayor has urged the Prime Minister to call the remarks racist and Islamophobic. Critics said Mr Sunak's reluctance to describe the comments as Islamophobic was "weak".

Tim Hanlon