The MP was swiftly suspended by Sunak — but Conservative ministers have had a much harder time directly condemning their former colleague on the airwaves.
Michael Tomlinson, a junior minister for immigration, became the latest government rep forced onto the defensive Tuesday, as he was repeatedly pressed on Lee’s comments during Ferrari’s LBC show.
“What Lee said was wrong, and as a result of what he said he had the whip removed from him,” Tomlinson offered.
But he opted not to expand on this description — and pointedly refused to say whether the comments were “Islamophobic.”
“I’m normally a very polite man,” Ferrari said. “I’ll ask you now for the third time — I’ve asked you six times why it was necessary — for the third time: was it Islamophobic?”
Tomlinson replied: “Nick, it was wrong.”
That was enough for Ferrari, who said: “I’ll have to curtail the interview there — I’m grateful for your time — but enough already.”
Closing out the conversation, Ferrari said: “Michael Tomlinson is a minister of state for illegal migration unable to answer a question.” On to the next one.
