'Rishi's thrown you under a bus': Cabinet ministers 'supported' Lee Anderson's attack on Sadiq Khan

After ITV News received a secret recording of Lee Anderson, the Reform MP admits to Anushka Asthana two Cabinet ministers expressed support following his inflammatory comments about Sadiq Khan

Cabinet ministers were among those who messaged their support to Lee Anderson after he was suspended from the Conservative party, telling him "Rishi has thrown you under the bus", it has been claimed.

In a secret recording leaked to ITV News, the Reform MP also described congratulatory messages from staff at Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) after his controversial comments about London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Mr Anderson is also heard claiming Mr Khan "hates this country... our heritage, our culture" in the recording from a Reform event in Kettering on Friday.

The London mayor told us it was "deeply depressing" Mr Anderson's "Islamophobia and anti Muslim hatred was cheered on by current Tory party staff, MPs and Cabinet ministers".

Listen to the audio leaked to ITV News:

Rishi Sunak removed the Conservative whip from Mr Anderson after he claimed Islamists had got control of London's Muslim mayor, saying "he's given our capital city away to his mates".

In the immediate aftermath, Mr Anderson admitted his remarks were a "little bit clumsy" but refused to apologise, later defecting to Richard Tice's Reform party.

At Friday's Reform event, he doubled down on his attack on Mr Khan. He told a group that nothing he had said was racist.

"I never mentioned Sadiq Khan's race, the colour of his skin, anything like that," he said.

But accusing the mayor of being a disaster for London, he claimed: "He hates this country, he hates our history, our heritage, our culture, he hates everything about it".

Mr Anderson described CCHQ workers messaging him "well done Lee", claiming it would blow over by Monday - "but you're saying what millions of people are thinking up and down the country".

While Mr Anderson has spoken of support from Tory MPs before, he has not mentioned receiving messages from members of Mr Sunak's top ministerial team.

Asked who had supported him at the time, Mr Anderson said on Friday "even Cabinet ministers", adding: "When I had the whip taken off me, I had Cabinet ministers text me and say 'Rishi has thrown you under a bus'."

CCHQ did not deny Mr Anderson's claims and told us "a vote for Reform is a vote for Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party".

Mr Anderson would not confirm who texted him their support but told me "there were a few, more than one" - among them, "at least two Cabinet ministers contacted me to say I'd been treated poorly".

"I would never betray the confidence of my colleagues, regardless of what political party they're in, that was sent in confidence," he said, adding that "a lot of those people who I sit opposite are still my friends."

Mr Anderson insists his latest comments against the London mayor weren't racist

He said he "believes" some in the prime minister's top table told Mr Sunak directly that he'd been "thrown under the bus", adding: "I'm fairly confident that privately they were bending the prime minister's ears."

When I pressed why they wouldn't support him publicly, he put it down to a fear of losing their jobs or rocking the boat ahead of the local and mayoral elections.

Mr Anderson insisted his latest remarks about Mr Khan "hating everything about our country" were not racist. He claims the mayor "never speaks out" about BLM and Gaza protests and "statues being torn" down, which he cites as the reason for his comments.

Mr Khan told us: "It is deeply depressing that he confirms his Islamophobia and anti Muslim hatred was cheered on by current Tory party staff, MPs and Cabinet ministers.“It’s unpatriotic to talk down modern, diverse, brilliant Britain in this way."

In response, a Conservative Party spokesman said: "A vote for Reform is a vote for Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party, taking us right back to square one.

"Only the Conservative Party is sticking to the plan and delivering on the people's priorities."

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