The deputy prime minister has declined to say whether it was Islamophobic for Lee Anderson to say London Mayor Sadiq Khan is controlled by “Islamists”.

Asked about the comments on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Dowden said it was right that Mr Anderson was asked by the Conservative Party to apologise, and could have remained a Tory MP had he done so.

Mr Anderson was suspended as a Conservative MP on Saturday after refusing to apologise for his remarks, made on GB News: “I don’t actually believe that the Islamists have got control of our country, but what I do believe is they’ve got control of Khan and they’ve got control of London… He’s actually given our capital city away to his mates.”