Lee Anderson joins Reform party: Here's why his comments about Sadiq Khan were 'wrong' – Scotsman comment

All politicians who believe in liberal democracy must show strong moral leadership over Islamophobic remarks by Lee Anderson and other such populist poison

Labour's London mayor Sadiq Khan stands alongside the then Conservative Home Secretary Amber Rudd during a vigil for the victims of the London Bridge terror attacks, carried out by Islamists, in 2017 (Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Former Conservative MP Lee Anderson’s appalling, untrue accusation that London mayor Sadiq Khan was “controlled” by Islamists saw him suspended from the Tories but issued with an invitation to join by the Reform party. So it’s little surprise he’s accepted it.

His complaints about free speech being stifled were equally false. He’s free to spout poisonous nonsense and others, including the Conservatives, are free not to associate themselves with him.

Government ministers have said Anderson’s comments about Khan, a Muslim, were “wrong” but struggled to explain why, demonstrating an alarming lack of moral leadership. Former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson had no such problem. Describing Anderson’s remarks as “offensive bollocks”, she told LBC radio: “The reason why it’s wrong is because it’s conflating a Muslim mayor with Islamism, which is an extremism and one that carries a level of threat, and it’s making that link because of his faith.”

Populists the world over try to whip up ethnic and religious tensions because they have little else to offer. All politicians who believe in liberal democracy must take a firm, unequivocal stand against them.