Lee Anderson has mocked a Labour MP in a four-word post on social media after he blasted the prime minister for killings in Gaza.
Tahir Ali, the MP for Birmingham Hall Green, accused Rishi Sunak of having “blood on his hands” over his response to the conflict in the Gaza Strip while addressing the House of Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions last week.
He said Mr Sunak had “boldly stated” his confidence in Israel following international law as the country continues to pound Gaza while searching for Hamas militants, and called on him to “commit to demanding an immediate ceasefire”.
The strong words were met with immediate pushback, with even Labour’s leadership distancing itself from the comments as high-profile Tories like Kemi Badenoch weighed in, forcing him to apologise.
Mr Anderson, a former Tory chairman, has become the party’s latest senior figure to heap criticism on Mr Ali, and did so in a blunt four-word post accusing him of “hypocrisy”.
The Sun recently reported that Mr Ali received £8,972 for flights to Qatar from the country’s government, with the MP having recorded the funds as being for flights, accommodation and food for himself and his family on Parliament’s Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
Qatar has been named Hamas’ most prominent financial backer since 2007 when it was one of two nations alongside Turkey to support the group’s ousting of Palestine’s then governing body the Palestinian Authority.
Mr Ali was invited to the country by its foreign affairs ministry in September 2023.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday, January 28, Mr Anderson commented on news of the trip, saying: “Dose of hypocrisy anyone?”
According to Mr Ali, he made the visit as part of the Qatar All-Party Parliamentary Group, and wrote on the MPs register that its purpose was to explore ways of “enhancing UK-Qatar cooperation on global development and aid”.
He described the meeting as follows: “Qatar APPG visit to meet with ministers, the Shura Council, and senior local and international stakeholders in international development for the purpose of sharing knowledge and exploring ways of enhancing UK-Qatar cooperation on global development and aid.”
Express.co.uk has contacted Mr Ali for comment.
