Rishi Sunak criticises own lawmaker's attack on London mayor

LONDON: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday that a Conservative lawmaker was wrong to say the mayor of London is controlled by Islamists, and denied his party tolerates anti-Muslim prejudice.

Sunak was pressured to condemn Islamophobia after the comments by Lee Anderson about Mayor Sadiq Khan, amid growing tensions within British politics over the Israel-Hamas war. The Conservative lawmaker claimed Islamists had "got control" of Khan and the city of London. Khan is Muslim and a member of the opposition Labour Party.

Anderson, a pugnacious populist, claimed Islamists had "got control" of Khan and the city of London. Khan is Muslim, and a member of the opposition Labour Party. "These comments weren't acceptable, they were wrong," Sunak told BBC radio on Monday. "Words matter, especially in the current environment where tensions are running high and I think it's incumbent on all of us to choose them carefully."


Asked whether his party has an Islamophobia problem, Sunak said: "No, of course it doesn't.'"

Opponents accused the Conservatives of deliberately raising tensions over pro-Palestinian protests that have been held most weekends since the Israel-Hamas conflict began.