British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was on Monday forced to defend the Conservatives against allegations of Islamophobia as the row over a Tory MP’s remarks against London Mayor Sadiq Khan continued to dominate the headlines.
The British Indian leader was asked during a BBC radio interview round in northern England if the Conservative Party had “Islamophobic tendencies” after MP Lee Anderson was suspended from the Tory party last week for stating that “Islamists” had “got control” of Pakistani-origin Khan, a member of the Opposition Labour Party, who branded the remarks “Islamophobic, racist and anti-Islam”.
Sunak had been under mounting pressure to directly address the issue and condemn the remarks made by his former party colleague.
“No, of course it doesn’t. I think it is incumbent on all of us, especially those elected to Parliament, not to inflame our debates in a way that is harmful to others,” he said in response to the question about whether the Conservative Party has a problem of Islamophobia.
Asked to address the controversial remarks made by Lee Anderson, he added: “Lee’s comments weren’t acceptable, they were wrong and that is why he has had the whip suspended. “Words matter, especially in the current environment where tensions are running high. I think it’s incumbent on all of us to choose them carefully.”
The row followed scenes of chaos in Parliament last week over an Israel-Gaza conflict vote and came in response to an article in The Daily Telegraph’ by former home secretary Suella Braverman, who wrote that “the Islamists, the extremists and the anti-Semites are in charge” of the country.
