Tory ex-minister said areas of east London and Birmingham had “no-go areas” enforced by local Muslims “abusing their religion”…reports Asian Lite News
Claims by a former Conservative minister that Muslim “no-go” zones exist in major British cities have escalated an Islamophobia row within the ruling party. MP Paul Scully, who previously ran to be his party’s candidate for London mayor, made the claims as the Conservatives were engaged in a fresh row over Islamophobia.
In an interview with the BBC, Scully referenced areas of east London and Birmingham as containing “no-go areas” enforced by local Muslims “abusing their religion,” the Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday.
“If you look at parts of Tower Hamlets, for example, where there are no-go areas, parts of Birmingham Sparkhill, where there are no-go areas, mainly because of doctrine, mainly because of people using, abusing in many ways, their religion to … because it is not the doctrine of Islam, to espouse what some of these people are saying,” he said. “That, I think, is the concern that needs to be addressed.”
Scully was responding to the recent sacking of MP Lee Anderson, who had claimed that Islamists had “got control” of London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Sully’s comments were condemned by Labour and Conservative figures representing the areas referenced by him.
Andy Street, the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, said “those in Westminster” should “stop the nonsense slurs.” He added: “The idea that Birmingham has a ‘no-go’ zone is news to me, and I suspect the good people of Sparkhill.”
Labour’ Jess Phillips said: “As one of the MPs for Sparkhill, I am expecting an apology for this utter drivel. My kids hang out in Sparkhill day and night, never had a moment’s worry. I go there weekly and live literally a five-minute walk from there and used to live there myself.”
Scully also claimed that the Conservative Party did not have a problem with Islamophobia.
Tory action against Anderson angers voters
Tory supporters at the grassroots level have expressed anger over Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s suspension of an MP embroiled in an Islamophobia row, The Guardian reported on Tuesday.
Lee Anderson was suspended last week after claiming in a TV interview that Islamists had “got control” of Sadiq Khan. Sunak’s decision to sack Anderson has divided the Conservative base, with some supporters labeling the leader “weak and feeble,” and a “snake.”
Leaked WhatsApp messages seen by The Guardian from members of the Conservative Democratic Organisation, a faction on the right of the party launched in 2022, show the extent of anger at Anderson’s sacking.
One member said it was “time for the snake of a PM to go,” while another said Sunak “should never have been” in the leadership position. Other members appear to support Anderson’s comments, with one saying: “The government are now owned by fear of Islamic rule.”
Controversial former Home Secretary Suella Braverman is also discussed in the WhatsApp conversations after she claimed last week that “the Islamists, the extremists and the antisemites are in charge now.”
One CDO member said: “She is saying the exact same thing as Lee Anderson, just in less colorful language, and importantly in print. I am beginning to believe that Suella is the only person who has shown the mettle who can turn the party and remove the threat of Islam from our country.”
Their message was liked by 10 group members on the messaging platform.
In a sign of further rifts within the Conservative Party, the CDO group members shared an online petition calling for Anderson’s reinstatement, which had gathered more than 5,000 signatures overnight.
Members also warned that the party leadership’s decision to sack the MP would threaten its electoral chances. One member said: “There goes Lee’s voters — wonder what happens when it dawns on them that they actually need voters to keep themselves in power.”
A number of Conservative MPs have said they support Anderson’s reinstatement if he apologizes for his comments. MP Jonathan Gullis told Times Radio: “I hope that we will see him return to that party sooner rather than later but of course he has to, I think, make that apology to Mayor Khan.”
Another Conservative MP said: “He wants to come back. We want him back.” But Anderson has so far remained firm in standing by his remarks, describing them as “born out of sheer frustration at what is happening to our beautiful capital city.”
In a statement, he said: “If you are wrong, apologising is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength. But when you think you are right, you should never apologise because to do so would be a sign of weakness.”
Despite making the decision to sack Anderson, Sunak has avoided describing the MP’s comments as Islamophobic, saying: “I’ve been very clear that what he said was wrong, it was unacceptable and that’s why we suspended (him).”
Khan said Sunak’s refusal to describe the claims as Islamophobic is “a tacit endorsement of anti-Muslim hatred and can only lead to the conclusion that anti-Muslim bigotry and racism are not taken seriously.”
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