On Monday, Mr Sunak faced calls from Labour and the Liberal Democrats to condemn Mr Anderson’s comments as Islamophobic.
However, his official spokesman said the Government preferred to use the phrase “anti-Muslim hatred”, arguing that the term Islamophobia as defined by Labour could undermine free speech.
Meanwhile, Mr Anderson issued a 300-word statement in which he again refused to apologise for his claims, arguing that rowing back on them would be “a sign of weakness”.
Mr Scully was among Tory MPs to criticise Mr Anderson’s comments, but called for a wider debate on the issue of Islamist extremism.
In an interview with BBC London, the former London minister made reference to parts of the capital and Birmingham with high Muslim populations.
He said: “The point I am trying to make is 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. That, I think, is the concern that needs to be addressed.”
His comments were swiftly denounced as Islamaphobic by Ali Milani, the chairman of the Labour Muslim Network, who said that there are “no Muslim ‘no-go’ areas in this country”.
Andy Street, the Tory West Midlands mayor, urged “those in Westminster to stop the nonsense slurs”, while Labour’s Jess Phillips, whose Birmingham constituency includes part of the Sparkhill area, said she expected an apology for the comments.
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
