Dear Prime Minister,
I am writing to you in my capacity as Chair of the London Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) to express our very serious and deep concern over the Islamophobic and hateful comments made by your colleague, Lee Anderson MP, on national TV regarding the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
As may have come to your attention over the last few days, the former Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss has been peddling far right propaganda and Lee Anderson appeared on GB News and claimed that "Islamists have got control of Khan" and furthermore “they have got control of London”. Anderson continued in the interview alleging “he has actually given the capital city away to his mates” adding a cautionary end note “beware… expect more of this and expect our city to be taken over by these lunatics”.
At a time when we are discussing the safety of our politicians I am so utterly shocked to see comments such as these from Members of Parliament. These comments are not only profoundly offensive but indeed dangerous. At a time when tensions are running exceedingly high in politics, Lee Anderson’s comments only fuel the flames of division and hatred in our society and put the safety and well-being of Muslim communities at risk and so too our Mayor of London Sadiq Khan himself.
These views are not compatible with the values of the vast majority of Londoners including I am sure Conservative MPs who represent our great city of London who, like me, value the diversity of our capital. Indeed, I always say that diversity is our strength. I therefore urge you to take this matter seriously and to show urgent leadership and integrity on this issue.
I am concerned that at the point of writing this letter your party has not taken any immediate action to condemn or discipline Lee Anderson or Liz Truss, I, along with my colleagues in the London PLP are calling on you to publicly denounce Lee Anderson's comments and immediately withdraw the whip. I also believe it is only fitting that an apology be forthcoming to Sadiq Khan and the wider Muslim community on behalf of your party.
The London PLP and I would welcome the opportunity for a select group to urgently meet with you and indeed the Chair of the Conservative Party to follow-up on what steps you will take to address the problem of Islamophobia within your ranks to ensure such incidents do not happen again.
Given the seriousness of this issue, I look forward to receiving your urgent reply.
Yours sincerely,
[[signature]]
Dawn Butler MP
Labour Member of Parliament for Brent Central
Rushanara Ali
Bethnal Green and Bow
Rosena Allin-Khan
Tooting
Fleur Anderson
Putney
Apsana Begum
Poplar and Limehouse
Lyn Brown
West Ham
Karen Buck
Westminster North
Ruth Cadbury
Brentford and Isleworth
Bambos Charalambous
Enfield Southgate
Feryal Clark
Enfield North
Neil Coyle
Bermondsey and Old Southwark
Stella Creasy
Walthamstow
Jon Cruddas
Dagenham and Rainham
John Cryer
Leyton and Wanstead
Marsha De Cordova
Battersea
Janet Daby
Lewisham East
Clive Efford
Eltham
Florence Eshalomi
Vauxhall
Vicky Foxcroft
Lewisham Deptford
Barry Gardiner
Brent North
Harriet Harman
Camberwell and Peckham
Helen Hayes
Dulwich and West Norwood
Meg Hillier
Hackney South and Shoreditch
Margaret Hodge
Barking
Rupa Huq
Ealing Central and Acton
Sarah Jones
Croydon Central
David Lammy
Tottenham
Seema Malhotra
Feltham and Heston
Siobhain McDonagh
Mitcham and Morden
John McDonnell
Hayes and Harlington
James Murray
Ealing North
Abena Oppong-Asare
Erith and Thamesmead
Matthew Pennycook
Greenwich and Woolwich
Steve Reed
Croydon North
Ellie Reeves
Lewisham West and Penge
Bell Ribeiro-Addy
Streatham
Tulip Siddiq
Hampstead and Kilburn
Virendra Sharma
Ealing Southall
Andy Slaughter
Hammersmith
Wes Streeting
Ilford North
Sam Tarry
Ilford South
Gareth Thomas
Harrow West
Emily Thornberry
Islington South and Finsbury North
Stephen Timms
East Ham
Catherine West
Hornsey and Wood Green