<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>The “Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred” of Reform UK MP Lee Anderson is “fuelling hate crime and violent threats,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said in a statement.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">His comments come after ITV News released a secret recording of Anderson talking to party members at an event in which he claimed Khan “hates this country ... our heritage, our culture.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The news also follows revelations ahead of the London mayoral elections on Thursday that Conservative candidate Susan Hall has followed social media pages and groups in which other people allegedly posted racist content and abuse aimed at the Muslim mayor.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anderson was previously deputy chair of the Conservatives, but switched parties after he was suspended by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for claiming that Khan was under the control of “Islamists” and had “given our capital city away to his mates.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the ITV recording, Anderson is heard saying former Conservative colleagues had offered him support and sympathy for his words, saying senior party officials had told him “you’re saying what millions of people are thinking up and down the country.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While not naming anyone specifically, Anderson said: “At least two Cabinet ministers contacted me to say I’d been treated poorly.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He added: “I would never betray the confidence of my colleagues, regardless of what political party they’re in, that was sent in confidence. A lot of those people who I sit opposite are still my friends.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Khan said: “In the past 24 hours we have seen my Tory (Conservative) mayoral opponent endorsing Facebook groups rife with antisemitism, Islamophobia and death threats against me. And now we have a former Tory party deputy chair caught on camera being racist, reports Arab News&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“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.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Khan added: “It’s unpatriotic to talk down modern, diverse, brilliant Britain in this way. And it has real-world consequences, fuelling hate crime and violent threats.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd/fas</div>