FILE - Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Member of Parliament for Ashfield Lee Anderson visit a class at Woodland View Primary School, in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. The U.K.’s governing Conservative Party has suspended ties with one if its lawmakers after he accused London Mayor Sadiq Khan of being controlled by Islamists, as tensions over the Israel-Hamas war continue to roil British politics. (Jacob King/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Member of Parliament for Ashfield Lee Anderson visit a class at Woodland View Primary School, in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. The U.K.’s governing Conservative Party has suspended ties with one if its lawmakers after he accused London Mayor Sadiq Khan of being controlled by Islamists, as tensions over the Israel-Hamas war continue to roil British politics. (Jacob King/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, right, talks with Ahmad Al Dubayan, Director General of the London Central Mosque, during his visit to the London Central Mosque in north London, on Monday, March 11, 2024. (Daniel Leal/Pool Photo via AP)
LONDON (AP) — The former deputy chairman of Britain's Conservative Party, who drew condemnation last month for saying the mayor of London is controlled by Islamists, has defected to the smaller right-wing Reform U.K. Party.
was suspended as a Conservative lawmaker in Parliament after he claimed that Islamists had “got control” of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who is a Muslim, amid heightened tensions in the U.K. over the .
Speaking at a news conference Monday, Anderson accused the governing Conservatives of stifling free speech. He said he had been disciplined for speaking his mind and for “speaking up on behalf of millions of people up and down the country who agree with me.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned Anderson's comments on Khan, and denied that his party had an Islamophobia problem.
In defecting Anderson becomes the first lawmaker for Reform U.K., which was founded by right-wing populist politician Nigel Farage. The party, formerly known as the Brexit Party, is seeking to attract dissatisfied Conservative voters mainly over the issue of immigration.
Reform finished in third place in two recent special local elections, and is seen by some Conservatives as a challenger with growing support, polling at around 10% of support from voters.
Critics say Anderson's defection highlighted the bitter divisions within the Conservative Party, which is polling far behind the opposition Labour Party and faces a tough battle to win voters at the general election, expected some time this year.
“The truth is that the prime minister is too weak to lead a party too extreme to be led," Labour lawmaker Pat McFadden said.
Earlier this month Sunak made a warning against what he called a “shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality” in the U.K. since Hamas launched its Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The prime minister said both British Jews and Muslims were subject to increased extremist threats as the Gaza conflict fueled divisions at home.
But critics, including Khan, alleged that some Conservatives were deliberately politicizing extremism in an election year.
Three former Conservative home secretaries were among those who signed a statement Monday urging the Tories and Labour to work together toward a consensus on how to respond to the far right and Islamist groups.
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