Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister, has defended Lee Anderson's remarks, stating he does not believe Anderson intended to be Islamophobic when he claimed that 'Islamists' had 'got control' of London and its mayor, Sadiq Khan. The defense has sparked controversy, with critics arguing that Anderson's comments were clearly Islamophobic and that Dowden's suggestion that they were not intended as such misses the point.
"I don't think Lee Anderson intended it to be islamaphobic" Deputy PM Oliver Dowden can't say whether Lee Anderson's comments about Sadiq Khan were islamaphobic or racist. https://t.co/8ewv3U12rj
Oliver Dowden silent over whether Lee Anderson's comments Islamophobic - tap the pic to read more https://t.co/ITpUeygNm1
Lee Anderson Did Not Intend To Be Islamophobic, Says Oliver Dowden https://t.co/TEwwcgtkmD
Oliver Dowden says he does not believe Lee Anderson was 'intending' to be Islamophobic https://t.co/MR3uTf1MzW
Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden said he does not believe Lee Anderson was “intending” to be Islamophobic when he claimed “Islamists” had “got control” of London and its mayor Sadiq Khan. https://t.co/pgOJwzwBXp
Oliver Dowden suggesting problem with Lee Anderson’s remarks was that they could have given impression of Islamophobia is totally wide of mark. Lee Anderson spoke with great clarity. What he said was Islamophobic.
"I don't believe Lee Anderson said those words in any way intending to be Islamophobic" says Oliver Dowden. #bbclaurak https://t.co/gjn56fxfc5
Oliver Dowden: “I don’t believe Lee Anderson said those remarks intending to be Islamophobic.”