Lee Anderson was wrong, we should be attacking Sadiq Khan’s ‘terrible record’, says Mark Harper

Sadiq Khan should be attacked for his “terrible record” rather than “wrong” claims about his leadership, Mark Harper has said.

The Transport Secretary rebuked Lee Anderson for suggesting “Islamists” had “got control” of the Mayor of London, insisting the focus should instead be on the “many” legitimate criticisms that may be levelled against Mr Khan.

Mr Anderson, the former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, lost the Tory whip after failing to apologise for the remarks, which sparked a furious row and claims of Islamophobia from his critics.

Rishi Sunak is now facing warnings from Red Wall MPs of a voter backlash over the sacking, according to leaked WhatsApp messages seen by The Telegraph.

But Mr Harper backed the decision to withdraw the whip, arguing the allegations made by the Ashfield MP “aren’t correct and are wrong”.

Ulez expansion

He said the Tories should instead be focusing on Mr Khan’s “terrible record” as Mayor – pointing to the expansion of the controversial ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez).

He told GB News: “There are many things to criticise Sadiq Khan for. He has got a terrible record as Mayor of London. I have been very critical about his rolling out the Ulez scheme with a false prospectus about why he is doing it to do with air quality when the evidence says it is nothing to do with it, pricing poorer motorists off the road.

“That is what we should be attacking Sadiq Khan about, his record, not about saying things that aren’t correct and are wrong. And that is why Lee Anderson had the whip removed.”

Mr Sunak and Simon Hart, his Chief Whip, suspended Mr Anderson after prominent moderate Tory MPs and party figures went public with condemnation of his comments.

Red Wall unrest

But messages posted by Tory MPs in private WhatsApp groups over the weekend, revealed by The Telegraph, suggest some have concerns about the fallout. Those fears are being raised by some MPs who, like Mr Anderson, managed to win long-held Labour seats in the Red Wall in 2019 – seats Mr Sunak is batting to keep.

While none of the messages seen by The Telegraph explicitly express support for the former Tory deputy chairman, the MPs’ comments suggest Red Wall constituents have concerns about the decision.

The latest row to engulf the Tory Party was sparked when Mr Anderson told GB News: “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.”

On Saturday, it was reported that Nigel Farage was trying to woo Mr Anderson to join Reform. Mr Tice played down the possibility but said: “The sentiment of what Lee was trying to say is that millions of Britons are very concerned about these extreme Islamists dominating these marches and creating a sense of fear across the UK.”

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