Bolton North East MP Mark Logan asked Lee Anderson to come to his constituency to see the contribution of its Muslim residents as he called the comments by his ex-Conservative Party colleague "Islamophobic".

The MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire is at the centre of a storm after he claimed Islamists are in control of the capital and its mayor, Sadiq Khan, over the course of an interview on GB News last week.

He lost the whip over the weekend with the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden saying what he said was wrong although stopping short of the term Islamophobia.

But on Monday, in an interview on BBC Newsnight, Mr Logan had no hesitation as he called the comments by his ex-Conservative Party colleague "Islamophobic".

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Mr Logan said: "If you were to ask me if there is Islamophobia in the comments that were made I do think there is Islamophobia in the comments that were made.

"This does not mean I think Lee Anderson is a racist but I do think he should reflect on the comments and he should take up the opportunity to offer an apology."

Also on Monday, Mr Anderson doubled down saying to apologise would be "a sign of weakness".

Mr Logan asked him to come to his constituency to see the contribution of its Muslim residents.

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Mr Logan said: "We live in one of the greatest countries in the world. You are listening to someone like me from a Northern Irish background but I have the privilege to represent Bolton.

"I don't have a Bolton accent but there are people with different religious backgrounds than me, with different skin colours than me, and they do have a Bolton accent.

"They are English and are proud to support the English football team. They are the entrepreneurs of the future. One of my best secondary schools is a majority Muslim boys secondary school. 

"These are people who are invested in the ‘British Dream’ so you shouldn’t be calling out these people as Islamists because you couldn't be further from the truth."

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.