Former deputy of Britain’s Conservative Party defects to smaller, populist party Reform UK

LONDON (AP) — The former deputy chairman of Britain’s Conservative Party, who drew condemnation last month for saying the mayor of London is controlled by Islamists, has defected to the smaller right-wing Reform U.K. Party. Lee Anderson was suspended as a Conservative lawmaker in Parliament after he claimed that Islamists had “got control” of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who is a Muslim, amid heightened tensions in the U.K. over the Israel-Hamas war. Speaking at a press conference Monday, Anderson accused the governing Conservatives of stifling free speech. In defecting Anderson becomes the first lawmaker for the Reform U.K. The party, formerly known as the Brexit Party, is seeking to attract dissatisfied Conservative voters mainly over the issue of immigration.