Scotland’s First Minister has called on Rishi Sunak to “lead from the front” and tackle Islamophobia within the Conservative Party in the wake of “despicable” comments made by MP Lee Anderson.
Humza Yousaf insisted the “Conservative Party is riddled with Islamophobia” as he demanded the Prime Minister instigate an independent, external review of the issue.
His comments come in the wake of remarks made by former deputy Conservative Party chair Mr Anderson, who lost the Tory whip at the weekend after failing to apologise for claiming “Islamists” had “got control” of Sadiq Khan and London.
With Mr Yousaf revealing he had spoken to SNP MSP John Mason after being “deeply concerned” about comments his backbencher had made that were perceived to be antisemitic, the First Minister condemned Mr Sunak for failing to tackle Islamophobia within the Conservative Party.
The fact that an MP thinks it is acceptable to make such Islamophobic comments against anybody, let alone the Mayor of London, I think is despicable
Humza Yousaf
The SNP leader branded Mr Anderson’s comments as being “really explicit Islamophobia” as he said the MP should be expelled from the party.
Mr Anderson’s comments are “a further demonstration of the fact that Islamophobia is normalised”, Mr Yousaf said.
He added: “You can look at any one of the tweets that I put out, or any one of the social media posts I put out, and you will see streams of Islamophobic abuse.
“The fact that an MP thinks it is acceptable to make such Islamophobic comments against anybody, let alone the Mayor of London, I think is despicable.
“I think the Conservative Party should be investigating what, I think, is clearly structural Islamophobia within that party.”
Mr Yousaf said he was “in full solidarity” with fellow Muslim Mr Khan as he called on the Tories to take tough action against Mr Anderson.
“He shouldn’t be allowed to continue to stand for the Conservatives, he shouldn’t just be suspended, he should be expelled from the party.”
Mr Sunak has denied there is a problem with Islamophobia in his party, with the Prime Minister insisting that “racism or prejudice of any kind” is “completely unacceptable” and “not British”.
Mr Sunak stated: “Lee’s comments weren’t acceptable, they were wrong. And that’s why he had the whip suspended.”
The Prime Minister continued: “Clearly his choice of words wasn’t acceptable, it was wrong.”
Referencing a newspaper piece by former home secretary Suella Braverman, in which she said that Islamists “are in charge of Britain now”, Mr Yousaf said those “disgraceful” comments “to me highlights that the Conservatives have got a real problem with Islamophobia”.
Mr Yousaf said: “The Prime Minister’s response to not just Lee Anderson’s comments but Suella Braverman’s despicable comments has been that he hasn’t shown leadership on this issue.
“I would urge him to allow an external review into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party.
“The Prime Minister has to lead from the front, he’s the Prime Minister, it is his party that is under scrutiny for unacceptable Islamophobia, he should be instructing an externally-led review into Islamophobia within the Conservative Party.”
Mr Yousaf spoke out as he campaigned in Glasgow ahead of an upcoming council by-election, where he was joined by SNP MSP Mr Mason, who came under fire after he used a debate on the situation in Gaza to question if it was “not antisemitic for some to say that the present Israeli offensive has been over the top and has possibly crossed the line from defence to revenge”.
The SNP leader said he had spoken to Mr Mason about those comments and had also spoken to leading figures within the Jewish community.
The First Minister said: “They were not acceptable remarks, but he clarified what he was meaning and gave an apology alongside that.”
He added: “John Mason was asked by the Jewish community, who I spoke to on Friday, to apologise and to clarify his remarks.
“He has apologised and clarified his remarks, he has done exactly what was asked of him.”
You may also like: Nick Ferrari kicks minister off show as he refuses 7 times to answer question