Anderson should not apologise for Khan remarks - MP

Marco Longhi rushed to defend his friend and fellow MP Lee Anderson

An MP said his close friend Lee Anderson should not apologise over comments he made about London mayor Sadiq Khan.

Mr Anderson, the MP for Ashfield, is sitting as an independent after claiming Islamists had control of Mr Khan and accusing the mayor of giving the capital away to extremists.

Marco Longhi, a Conservative MP who represents Dudley North in the West Midlands, defended him and said he should not have been suspended from the party.

He said there was no evidence his friend was Islamophobic or racist and that he should be re-instated.

The Ashfield MP was suspended from the Tory party after he refused to apologise for the remarks, which the prime minister's official spokesperson said were wrong.

Mr Longhi told Politics Midlands: "I think where there might be a slight weakness in his argument is making an assertion that Sadiq Khan is closely associated to Islamist and therefore, by inference, an Islamist himself.

"I think it's right that Lee works this out and I would like to see him return in the Conservative fold as soon as possible."

Lee Anderson has represented Ashfield since 2019

Mr Longhi made the remarks during a debate about so-called no-go zones.

Another Conservative MP, Paul Scully, apologised last week for suggesting there were "no-go" areas in parts of London's Tower Hamlets and Sparkill in Birmingham.

The Dudley North MP said those comments were wrong but it did not show the Conservatives were out of touch.

Mr Longhi said he represented a diverse community and there was not a corner of the United Kingdom he would personally describe as a no-go zone.

"We know that Britain's diversity is a great strength," added Mary Creagh, former MP for Wakefield, and Labour Party candidate for Coventry East.

"We can see good people trying to paper in the cracks that have been left by 14 years of Tory austerity and cuts to public services."