Lee Anderson Doubles Down On Sadiq Khan Remarks, Reform UK Extends Invitation

Lee Anderson MP during the Conservative Party Conference at Manchester Central Convention Complex, Manchester on Monday 2nd October 2023. (Photo by Pat Scaasi/MI News/NurPhoto via AP)

Reform UK has seemingly thrown open its doors to GB News host and suspended Conservative MP Lee Anderson joining the party.

Anderson refused to back down from his claims about London Mayor Sadiq Khan being under the influence of “Islamists” during a GB News interview on Friday, comments that saw him lose the Tory whip on Saturday.

As the fallout spread through the weekend and the Tory party faced down allegations of “systemic Islamophobia” within the party, Anderson appeared to double down. In a statement issued Monday afternoon Anderson admitted that his choice of words “may have been clumsy” but “were borne out of sheer frustration at what is happening to our beautiful capital city.” He said the “vast majority” of Muslim contributed positively to Britain but condemned “a tiny minority of extremists” attending pro-Palestine marches and the “abject failures” of Kahn in addressing them.

He added: “But when you think you are right, you should never apologise because to do so would be a sign of weakness.”

Anderson finished by calling on voters to “get Kahn out” at the next mayoral election.

Soon after, Reform UK leader Richard Tice issued his own statement on X and wrote: Anderson’s “sentiments are supported by millions of British citizens, including myself.”

Reform UK, which rose from the Brexit Party’s ashes under the leadership of Richard Tice and the watchful eye of Nigel Farage, Anderson’s colleague at GB News, has positioned itself to the Conservative Party’s right for those disillusioned with its current direction.

Ripping into the “ugly” pro-Palestine demonstrations that have taken place in London since Hamas’ attack on October 7 and the subsequent Israeli military campaign in Gaza, Tice wrote: “Extreme Islamists are creating a sense of fear and intimidation in our capital. With every failure to crack down on their behaviour, they become emboldened.”

He continued: “The Jewish community is scared; Londoners are scared; MPs are scared; the Speaker is scared. Even the police appear too scared to do what they are supposed to maintain the peace in our capital: arrest those who demonstrably break the law.”

Tice added: “I do not and will not give a running commentary on any discussions I have with any MPs, but those MPs have my number.”