Lee Anderson’s failure to apologise for grotesque remarks about Sadiq Khan, and subsequent insistence that he was right, have isolated him. Rightly, the Conservative whip was withdrawn after he claimed that Islamists had “got control” of the mayor of London. But while he is the locus of the current row over Islamophobia in Tory ranks, he is hardly unique. Rishi Sunak’s belated response, the leadership’s unwillingness to acknowledge his comments not just as prejudiced but as racist or Islamophobic, and the lack of reaction to the inflammatory words of colleagues, all speak to a broader problem and a failure to tackle it.
Mr Anderson was responding to an article by Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, stating that “the Islamists, the extremists and the anti-Semites are in charge now”. The prime minister and others say that the Ashfield MP was wrong to name an individual.
Targeting Mr Khan – the UK’s most prominent Muslim politician and a recipient of regular death threats – was repugnant. It was also very familiar. The chair of the Conservative Muslim Forum condemned the 2016 Tory campaign for the London mayoralty for its “repeated and risible attempts to smear” Mr Khan. Susan Hall, this year’s Conservative candidate, has criticised Mr Anderson and the “monstrous abuse” that Mr Khan has faced. But she previously retweeted a message calling him “mayor of Londonistan” and suggested that some Jewish Londoners were “frightened” by him.
Just as this issue goes beyond Mr Anderson, so the damage caused goes beyond Mr Khan. Remarks such as these – and the reluctance to tackle them head-on – help to bring racist commentary into the mainstream, with broad consequences. Islamophobic and antisemitic hate incidents in the UK have increased sharply since the Hamas atrocities in Israel on 7 October, with Tell Mama reporting a threefold rise.
The Conservative peer Sayeeda Warsi previously described Islamophobia as “very widespread” in her party. Put aside the remarks of activists, councillors and candidates. In 2019, Boris Johnson compared women wearing burqas to letterboxes and bank robbers. Months later, having won the leadership election, he backtracked on the promise of an independent inquiry into Islamophobia in the party, instead offering “a general investigation into prejudice of all kinds”. The party refuses to sign up to the widely accepted definition of Islamophobia – though the Scottish Conservatives have adopted it – and has not produced its own version, as it promised.
Backbenchers have reportedly raised concerns about Mr Anderson’s sacking following a backlash from constituents, with one telling the Telegraph that the MP, who was the party’s deputy chair, “speaks for the silent majority”. Even as the Tory MP Paul Scully criticised his colleague, he added that there were “no-go areas” in parts of Tower Hamlets and Birmingham Sparkhill. Last week, Liz Truss, the former prime minister, stood silent as Steve Bannon called Tommy Robinson “a hero”.
At best, the leadership does not understand how serious this matter is. At worst, as Mr Khan himself suggested on Monday, it is a political strategy. A growing flirtation with the far right by some party figures is seeing dog whistles abandoned for klaxons. Robert Buckland, the former justice secretary, has rightly warned against dangerous rhetoric from his colleagues. A recognition that Mr Anderson’s remarks were racist and Islamophobic would be a start. But a much fuller reckoning is required.
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• This article was amended on 27 February 2024. It is Susan Hall who is the Conservative candidate for London mayor, not Susan Hill as an earlier version said.
