LONDON (AP) — The U.Okay.’s governing Conservative Occasion has suspended ties with one if its lawmakers after he accused London Mayor Sadiq Khan of being managed by Islamists, as tensions over the Israel-Hamas struggle roil British politics.
The get together stated on Saturday that Lee Anderson was suspended after he refused to apologize for remarks made about Khan in a tv interview on Friday. The motion implies that Anderson, a deputy chairman of the Conservatives till final month, will sit in Parliament as an impartial.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and different senior Conservative leaders had come beneath rising strain to reject the feedback, which the chairwoman of the opposition Labour Occasion referred to as “unambiguously racist and Islamophobic.”
The controversy comes because the Israel-Hamas struggle fuels tensions in British society. Professional-Palestinian marches in London have repeatedly drawn a whole lot of 1000’s of demonstrators calling for a right away cease-fire, whilst critics describe the occasions as “antisemitic hate marches.” Figures launched over the past week present that each anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim incidents have risen sharply since Hamas’ assault on Israel on Oct. 7.
That anger has spilled over into Parliament, the place some lawmakers say they worry for his or her security after receiving threats over their positions on the battle in Gaza.
In his interview with GB Information, Anderson criticized the police response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London, leveling the blame on Khan.
Anderson stated he didn’t “really consider that the Islamists have gotten management of our nation, however what I do consider is that they’ve bought management of Khan and so they’ve bought management of London.’’
Khan flatly rejected the allegations, telling the BBC that every one types of hatred have to be rejected, together with antisemitism, Islamophobia and misogyny.
“My concern is there’ll be individuals throughout the nation, people who find themselves Muslim, or appear like Muslims, who’ll be actually involved about coming into into politics, as a result of they know if these are the kinds of feedback which can be stated in opposition to me by a senior Conservative, what likelihood have they got?” he stated.