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Readers can vote in our online poll on whether the Ashfield MP should switch to the Nigel Farage-linked party.
By Katie Harris, Political Reporter
09:21, Tue, Feb 27, 2024 | UPDATED: 09:48, Tue, Feb 27, 2024
Lee Anderson insists he won’t apologise to Sadiq Khan
Lee Anderson’s political future is uncertain after he lost the Tory whip over as Islamophobia row.
The Ashfield MP was suspended over the weekend after refusing to apologise over claims “Islamists” had “got control” of Sadiq Khan and London in the wake of pro-Palestine protests.
Mr Anderson, a popular figure on the Tory right, will now sit as an independent unless he has the whip restored or defects to another party.
Reform UK leader Richard Tice has hinted he would be welcome in his party following his suspension.
Mr Tice said yesterday: “Lee Anderson may have been clumsy in his precise choice of words, but his sentiments are supported by millions of British citizens, including myself.
“I do not and will not give a running commentary on any discussions I have with any MPs, but those MPs have my number.”
The former Conservative Party deputy chairman did not rule out the move when repeatedly asked in a GB News interview last night.
The former Labour councillor said: “I have been on a political journey and it’s been an incredible journey and I’m incredibly proud to be sat in there and we’ve done some good work since the Conservative Party [came to power], despite what people think.
“But this is a distraction. It’s a distraction that I really didn’t want. But there’s 650 of us in that place over there, and we see what’s going on on Parliament Square every single week now. It’s terrifying.
“And if not one person in that chamber can speak up about what’s going off on our streets, then really we shouldn’t be there.
“I’m making no comment on my future. I shall be sat in the chamber this afternoon on the Conservative benches. There’s no votes today, but there’ll be votes tomorrow and I’ll be voting with the Government.”
Mr Anderson admitted his language may have been “clumsy” but insisted Mr Khan is “definitely not in control of the streets of London”.
He vowed he would not apologise to the Labour politician “while I’ve got breath in my body”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Ashfield MP had been deprived of the Tory whip because his “choice of words wasn’t acceptable, it was wrong”.
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