Labor party demands Tory London mayoral candidate apologize for 'Islamophobia' | Conservatives

The Labor Party has demanded that Conservative London mayoral challenger Sadiq Khan apologize for comments and actions that led to her being accused of Islamophobia and racism.

In a letter from Labor leader Annelise Dodds, Susan Hall also called for a commitment not to “continue to use Islamophobia or anti-Muslim hatred” as part of her election campaign in London.

The intervention comes as the Conservatives come under increasing pressure over comments by former party deputy leader Lee Anderson, who on Saturday the party whip was suspended after he refused to apologize saying the Islamists had “gained control” of Khan.

Dodds' letter listed past comments and actions attributed to Hall, whose candidacy has been dogged by controversy over positions such as her support for Donald Trump. They include:

Arguing that Jewish Londoners are “afraid” of Khanwhich Labor described as a “divisive and Islamophobic dog whistle”.

Approving a tweet from a far-right figure calling Khan the “Mayor of Londonistan,” a well-known Islamophobic trope.

I liked it a reply to a tweet about Khan's strategy to combat violence against women and girls, which said: “Well said Susan, the RAT traitor likes that sort of thing,” in an apparent reference to female genitalia.

Labor relied on material published by campaign group Hope Not Hate as part of investigation hall

“Until you apologize and provide much-needed clarity on your past statements – and until you issue a full and unequivocal condemnation of Lee Anderson's comments as 'racist' and 'Islamophobic' – the people of London will be right to question your commitment to winning not only hatred of Muslims, but also all other forms of bigotry and racism,” Dodds wrote.

Hall used an article published by the Standard on Monday to denounce the “appalling abuse” faced by Khan, but Dodds said she did not go far enough.

In Hall's Standard article, entitled “We Conservatives should criticize Sadiq Khan for his policies and politics, but never for his Muslim faith.” She did not mention Anderson by name.

She wrote: “I may be one of Mayor Sadiq Khan's biggest critics, but I also see the appalling abuse he is subject to as one of the country's most prominent Muslim politicians. No one should put up with this, and I strongly condemn anyone who does or encourages it. His faith is one of his positive characteristics, not something to suspect.”

A spokesman for Hall said the Conservatives had “already responded” and pointed to the Standard article.

Hall, a member of the London Assembly, was unexpected choice of conservatives last year to oppose Hahn in this year's mayoral election, in part because of her low profile but also because of her hard-right views and strong support for Trump and Liz Truss.

During its investigation into Hall last year, Hope Not Hate found that she liked tweets praising Enoch Powell, as well as some of the Islamophobic slurs directed at Khan.

In February 2020 Hall liked the post on Twitternow known as X, in praise of Powell, a former Conservative minister whose name has become a symbol of racism in British politics since his famous speech of 1968who warned that immigration would lead to “rivers of blood”.

The tweet featured Powell saying: “It's never too late to take London back”, an apparent reference to the city's multiculturalism.