Lee Anderson should lose whip for Sadiq Khan jibe, says Labour

The MP Lee Anderson has been criticised by senior Tory politicians for claiming that Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, is under the control of “Islamists”.

The former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party said in an appearance on GB News that Khan had “given our capital city away to his mates”.

Labour called for Rishi Sunak to remove the whip from Anderson for his “outright racism and Islamophobia”, and Sir Sajid Javid described the comments as “ridiculous”. Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, attempted to distance himself from the claims and said any decision on the whip was a matter for the party.

Anderson, the Tory MP for Ashfield since 2019, was speaking after controversy this week over parliamentary votes on a Gaza ceasefire, as