Minister dodges Islamophobia question 11 times before he's booted from interview

A government minister was kicked off LBC after he failed to answer 11 times questions about Lee Anderson’s Islamophobia towards Sadiq Khan.

Illegal migration minister Michael Tomlinson was grilled on Nick Ferrari’s LBC show about the issue this morning.

Lee Anderson had the whip suspended after his claim that London was controlled by Sadiq Khan’s ‘Islamist mates’.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak and other ministers said this was ‘wrong’ but have not called it Islamophobic.

So Nick Ferrari asked Mr Tomlinson 11 times whether the comments were Islamophobic but to no avail.

Mr Tomlinson said: ‘Respectfully, I think what Lee said was wrong and as a result of what he said, he had the whip removed from him.’

Nick then asks: ‘What was it specifically that meant the whip had to go? We agree it’s wrong, but why was it wrong?’

‘Nick, it was wrong…what he said was wrong,’ the minister replied.

Illegal migration minister Michael Tomlinson was grilled this morning by Nick Ferrari (Picture: LBC)

Nick Ferrari brought the interview to an end by saying ‘enough already’ (Picture: LBC)

Nick then asks: ‘Yes but why was it wrong, is what I’m trying to get at.’

Mr Tomlinson replies: ‘It was wrong, Nick, because of what he said,’ before Nick interrupts and says: ‘Let’s try this a different way, was it Islamophobic?’

‘What he said was wrong,’ Mr Tomlinson said.

Nick cuts off the interview and says: ‘Enough already.’

Nick added: ‘Michael Tomlinson is a minister of state for illegal migration, unable to answer a question.’

Meanwhile immigration minister Tom Pursglove told Times Radio: ‘I don’t think Lee personally is racist but what he said was unacceptable.’

This reluctance to call out Islamophobia has been called out by Labour.

Lee Anderson has refused to apologise for his comments (Picture: Reuters)

Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: ‘He (Anderson) should know better than that, he has been a senior figure within the Conservative Party.

‘But I think it speaks to Rishi Sunak’s weakness on this that his response has been wholly inadequate.’

Home secretary James Cleverly believes Mr Anderson should apologise for the remarks but stopped short of calling it Islamophobia.

He said: ‘The prime minister has made the position of the party clear, he has asked Lee to apologise, Lee didn’t apologise which is why the party whip has been withdrawn.

‘I think Lee should apologise, what he said wasn’t accurate, it wasn’t fair, but the chief whip and the prime minister have made the party position absolutely clear on this.’

Mr Anderson said his comments were ‘clumsy’ but said apologising is a ‘sign of weakness’.

He told GB News: ‘When you think you are right you should never apologise because to do so would be a sign of weakness.’

He also said in a statement to the channel: ‘Politics is divisive and I am just incredibly frustrated about the abject failures of the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

‘My words may have been clumsy but my words were borne out of sheer frustration at what is happening to our beautiful capital city.

‘Hundreds of people had been arrested for racist abuse on these marches and we barely hear a peep from the mayor. If these marches were about something less fashionable, Sadiq Khan would have been the first to call for them to be cancelled. It’s double standards for political benefit.’

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