LEE Anderson would have remained a Tory MP if he had apologised for his “offensive” remarks, the deputy PM has said.
But Oliver Dowden refused multiple times to say if he believed the Red Waller’s comments were Islamophobic.
Ashfield MP Mr Anderson was stripped of the party whip on Saturday for saying London Mayor Sadiq Khan was controlled by “Islamists”.
He sparked widespread condemnation from across the political divide including from several senior Tories.
Quizzed yesterday, Mr Dowden said: “The Prime Minister took action, he gave Lee Anderson the opportunity to apologise, he didn’t take that opportunity.
“Words matter, he didn’t choose his words correctly and having failed to apologise the Prime Minister took action and removed the whip, I think that was the appropriate course of action to take.”
The Deputy PM said he did not believe that Mr Anderson was “intending to be Islamophobic” but realised “how those words have caused offence”.
Ex-Justice Secretary Robert Buckland was among many high-profile Tories to turn on Mr Anderson.
He said: “His comment about the mayor of London being controlled by Islamists is, I’m afraid, racist. It crosses a line. It was repugnant.”
Mr Dowden also said former Home Secretary Suella Braverman had not committed a sackable offence for saying “the Islamists, the extremists and the anti-Semites are in charge now”.
Although he echoed Rishi Sunak’s warning that mobs trying to intimidate politicians were “un-British”, and added: “What have we allowed our society to become?”
Mr Anderson posted a picture of himself enjoying a pint in a pub called the Dog House.
Rumours he could join the Reform Party were yesterday downplayed by its leader Richard Tice who said he had not had any defection talks.
