The original line-up for the fund-raiser

ABORT. Abort!

Conservative MP Lee Anderson was supposed to be appearing as one of the “guests of honour” at the launch of the new Queen’s Park and Maida Vale Conservative Association last Wednesday.

He was due to join the historian David Starkey, Kensington MP Felicity Buchan and the former EU minister Lord Frost at a “grand ceremony” at a venue location kept secret until shortly before.

I can only speculate what would have been discussed at this great meeting of minds with party members paying £30 ticket for a glass of bubbly, assorted canapés and excellent raffle prizes.

But with the whip removed following the row over accusations against him, Mr Anderson’s name and image were removed from the invitation list on Saturday morning.

In neighbouring Westminster, the leader of the Labour group Adam Hug said he was confident residents of the two wards did “not share his values”.

But Samira Hersi, the Conservative parliamentary candidate for the new Maida Vale and Queen’s Park constituency, responded by saying: “I am a Muslim and so are my family. I understand that probably doesn’t matter to you as you’re seeking to make a cheap shot to support your parliamentary candidacy. I do not agree nor condone with what Lee said whatsoever and he should apologise.”

Lee Anderson with constituency members in Holborn and St Pancras last year

The new constituency is replacing Westminster North, which has been held by Karen Buck since 1997, after she announced she was stepping down due to the ill health of her husband, Barrie Taylor, whose funeral is next week.

Ms Hersi says on her campaign website that her parents came to this country as Somali refugees and that her father was a bus driver. Having worked for charities and helped out in the community, she now works in comms.

Mr Anderson has so far declined to apologise for his claims about “Islamists” having “got control” of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, insisting it would be “a sign of weakness”.

It was another example of GB News doing what GB News does best: trying to make racism seem OK. Mr Khan had criticised the PM for failing to call out “anti-Muslim hatred” in the Conservative Party.

While he might be out of favour with the party now, Mr Anderson has for a long time been one of the party’s most potent fundraisers, often wheeled out at events to rally the big cheque-writers with his speak-your-mind-whatever-is-in-it style. He was a special guest for Holborn and St Pancras Constituency Conservative Association last year, fresh from insisting people could avoid food banks if they learned how to cook.

Camden Conservative leader Gio Spinella was accused of being a “snob” after he spoke out against the former Labour councillor, describing him as a “carpet bagger”, and telling the council meeting: “I would remind people how Lee Anderson does not reflect the kind of Conservatism that me and my group usually stand by.”