Oliver Dowden silent over whether Lee Anderson's comments Islamophobic

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".

Oliver Dowden also said Mr Anderson, who was suspended as a Tory MP after refusing to apologise for the remarks, would have kept his post if he had.

He added that Mr Anderson - a former deputy Tory chairman - was not "intending to be Islamophobic".

The comments have provoked a wave of criticism, including from some Tories.

Mr Anderson was suspended as a Conservative MP on Saturday after refusing to apologise for his comments, made on GB News.

He told the channel on Friday: "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."

Mr Anderson, who is a GB News presenter, had accepted the party had "no option" but to suspend him, given the "difficult position" it put the government in. However, he has not apologised for what he said.

Speaking on BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Dowden said he understood that Mr Anderson's comments "have caused offence".

But he defended how the party had handled the situation, adding that asking him to apologise for the remarks was "the appropriate step to take".