Sadiq Khan hit out at the "poison" of Islamophobia as he responded to Lee Anderson's comments in a speech at the London Labour Conference on Saturday, 2 March. The Ashfield MP received widespread criticism and had the Tory whip suspended after claiming the London mayor is being controlled by “Islamists”. Mr Anderson has refused to apologise for the remarks despite Rishi Sunak labelling them as “wrong” and has not ruled out standing at the next election. Mr Khan criticised Mr Sunak for "failing to condemn [Mr Anderson's] words for what they are."