A Conservative Party MP who made “divisive and dangerous” comments about London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been suspended by his party.
Lee Anderson said Mr Khan, who is London's first Muslim mayor, had given the capital away to “his mates” during an appearance on the right-leaning GB News channel on Friday.
He also went on to say he believes that “Islamists” have taken “control” of Mr Khan and London.
A spokesperson for the Conservative party’s chief whip, Simon Hart, said the decision had been made following the Ashfield MP's “refusal to apologise”.
Responding to Mr Anderson's claim on Saturday, Mr Khan said it was “Islamophobic, racist” and pours “fuel on the fire of anti-Muslim hatred”.
He also said the “deafening silence” of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet amounted to condoning racism.
Former chancellor of the exchequer Sajid Javid called Mr Anderson's remarks “ridiculous” while Labour said it was “appalling racism and Islamophobia”.
Tory peer Gavin Barwell, who was Theresa May’s chief of staff in Number 10, described the comments as a “despicable slur”.
The shadow paymaster general, Jonathan Ashworth, also described the remarks as “divisive deluded and dangerous” and said they would add to the “degradation of British institutions and cultural life on the international stage”.
“It’s time to show some leadership and take on the extremists in your party,” he added, in a letter to Mr Sunak.
Labour MP Jess Philips said the remarks would make Muslim politicians in Britain targets of hate.
Non-Muslim politicians should take a stand to make sure their colleagues are “not alone”, she added in a post on X.
Hope not Hate, an antiracism organisation, has also written to Conservative party chairman Richard Holden, describing Mr Anderson's comments as “highly defamatory, divisive and inaccurate”.
The organisation added that Mr Anderson was “stoking the flames of the far-right and could put the mayor of London in serious danger”.
Its chief executive, Nick Lowes, also called on Mr Holden to expel Mr Anderson from the party.
A Conservative Party source earlier said: “Lee was simply making the point that the mayor, in his capacity as PCC (police and crime commissioner) for London, has abjectly failed to get a grip on the appalling Islamist marches we have seen in London recently.”
Mr Anderson, a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, joined parliament as MP for Ashfield in 2019.
He had been a councillor for the Labour Party before defecting to the Tories in 2018.
The furore comes after Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, broke with precedent and allowed a wider vote on a ceasefire in Gaza amid concerns about intimidation of some parliamentarians.
The war in Gaza has been highly divisive in Britain and has led to a sharp rise in racially-motivated incidents, figures show.
Islamophobic incidents in the UK have tripled in more four months since the attacks on Israel, according to an organisation monitoring anti-Muslim sentiment.
There were 2,010 cases of anti-Muslim abuse between October 7, 2023, and February 7 this year, reported Tell Mama, an organisation that describes itself as the leading agency on measuring anti-Muslim hate.
During the same four-month period a year previously, 600 cases were reported.
This month, the Community Security Trust said it had recorded an “explosion in hatred” against the Jewish community since the October 7 attacks.
THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper
Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
Power: 136hp @ 4,500rpm (Cooper) / 192hp @ 5,000rpm (Cooper S)
Torque: 220Nm @ 1,480rpm (Cooper) / 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (Cooper S)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 4.8L to 5.4L / 100km
Honeymoonish
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elie%20El%20Samaan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENour%20Al%20Ghandour%2C%20Mahmoud%20Boushahri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
All about the Sevens
Cape Town Sevens on Saturday and Sunday: Pools A – South Africa, Kenya, France, Russia; B – New Zealand, Australia, Spain, United States; C – England, Scotland, Argentina, Uganda; D – Fiji, Samoa, Canada, Wales
HSBC World Sevens Series standing after first leg in Dubai 1 South Africa; 2 New Zealand; 3 England; 4 Fiji; 5 Australia; 6 Samoa; 7 Kenya; 8 Scotland; 9 France; 10 Spain; 11 Argentina; 12 Canada; 13 Wales; 14 Uganda; 15 United States; 16 Russia
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The Breadwinner
Director: Nora Twomey
Starring: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq
Three stars
