There is a “concerted attempt” to “humiliate minorities for political gain”, London’s mayor has said.
Referencing the “level of debate in public life”, Sadiq Khan also claimed the prime minister had failed properly to condemn remarks made about him by Tory MP Lee Anderson.
The former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party claimed just over a week ago that Islamists had “got control” of Mr Khan and London, while expressing concerns about “racist abuse” during pro-Palestinian marches. He has since lost the Tory whip.
Mr Khan was speaking 24 hours after a speech in Downing Street by Rishi Sunak, who said “forces at home” had been “trying to take advantage” of the human suffering caused by the Israel-Hamas war to “advance a divisive, hateful, ideological agenda”.
Mr Sunak took to the lectern outside Number 10 after the victory of George Galloway in the Rochdale by-election this week, with the prime minister saying the incoming Workers Party of Britain MP “dismisses the horror of what happened on 7 October” when Hamas killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took many more hostage.
Mr Khan, speaking to delegates at the London Labour Conference, said: “A week on from the racist, anti-Muslim and Islamophobic remarks made by a senior Tory member of parliament, and the complete failure of Rishi Sunak even as he stood outside Number 10, or anyone around him to condemn them for what they are, it’s important to say a few words about the level of debate in public life.
“What we’re witnessing is a concerted and growing attempt by some to degrade and humiliate minorities for political and electoral gain.”
