newscast. newscast from the bbc. hello, it s paddy in the studio. and it s laura in the studio. and henry is having a week off, so we are graced with the journalist of the moment. hello. who are you? nick watt, how is that? nick watt, the political editor of newsnight, he has been making some news if you are viewing this week. since we last spoke yesterday we have just broke the news that lee anderson the tory mp has been booted out of the party for making what a lot of people believe were racist and unpleasant islamophobic comments, and there has been a statement from anderson himself and also overnight a statement from the prime minister too condemning extremism and anti semitism but not condemning islamophobia. remind ourselves what lee anderson actually said before we get into the furore around it. i don t actually believe that the islamists have got control of the country but what i do believe is they have got control of khan and they have got control of london, and they
that is why the prime minister took action, he gave lee anderson the opportunity to apologise. he did not take that opportunity. words matter. he did not choose his words correctly. having failed to apologise, the prime and instead took action and removed the whip which i think was the appropriate course of action. but do you agree that the remarks were islamophobic and anti muslim? i don t believe that lee anderson said those remarks intending to the islamophobic. i listen to the comments of your previous contributor and the way in which she was concerned they would be interpreted, and for exactly that reason, the prime minister asked, and indeed the chief whip asked for that apology and one was not forthcoming and action has been taken. i think that is the appropriate step to take. i think what lee anderson was more broadly expressing in his interview, as others have done, is a deep concern which, by the way, i also share, about the way in which politics is being conducted