Defiant Lee Anderson vowed he will not apologise to Sadiq Khan “while I’ve got breath in my body”.
The Ashfield MP lost the Tory whip over the weekend after claiming “Islamists” had “got control” of the London Mayor.
But speaking tonight the former Conservative Party deputy chairman insisted he will not say sorry to the Labour politician for his remarks.
He told GB News: “I think the party could have given me a little bit more backing, if I’m honest. You saw the statement that I produced on Saturday, which I was willing to go with.
“It’s shown a little bit of contrition there, although I didn’t directly apologise to Mayor Khan, which I’m not going to, not while I’ve got breath in my body because the comments I made weren’t racist at all.”
Mr Anderson, who is a presenter on the channel, said he has had “absolutely phenomenal” support from constituents in the wake of the row.
He said: “I know I’m not everybody’s cup of tea and I do speak in a different language to a lot of people in Parliament. When I went into pubs in Ashfield at the weekend, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, which I did, I got a round of applause and I went in. These are normal working class people.
“Some people over in that place (Westminster) might not like that sort of response, but this is what normal people are thinking in places like Ashfield.
“My inbox has exploded with support. I cannot keep up with my WhatsApp messages, my text messages, my Facebook messages, Instagram, whatever social media platform I’m on. The amount of support coming through is absolutely phenomenal.
“They’re saying, ‘Lee please speak out for us. Don’t back down. Don’t apologise because you’re speaking for millions of people across the country.’”
Mr Anderson admitted his language may have been “clumsy” but insisted Mr Khan is “definitely not in control of the streets of London”.
He pointed to a pro-Palestine protest in Westminster last Wednesday which saw the “from the river to the sea” slogan projected onto Parliament.
He said: “I stick by my words in that we have lost control or losing control of the city.”
Mr Anderson also did not rule out a dramatic switch to Reform UK after leader Richard Tice hinted he would be welcome.
He said: “I have been on a political journey and it’s been an incredible journey and I’m incredibly proud to be sat in there and we’ve done some good work since the Conservative Party [came to power], despite what people think.
“But this is a distraction. It’s a distraction that I really didn’t want. But there’s 650 of us in that place over there, and we see what’s going on on Parliament Square every single week now. It’s terrifying.
“And if not one person in that chamber can speak up about what’s going off on our streets, then really we shouldn’t be there.
“I’m making no comment on my future. I shall be sat in the chamber this afternoon on the Conservative benches. There’s no votes today, but there’ll be votes tomorrow and I’ll be voting with the Government.”
Asked if he would be standing for the Conservatives at the next general election, Mr Anderson said: “That’s not up to me, that’s out of my hands at the moment, but I will be standing at the next election.”
