Imam accused of being ‘IS supporter’ by David Cameron 'voted for Conservative Party'

The Tooting-based imam who David Cameron has accused the London mayoral candidate of repeatedly sharing a platform with reportedly voted for the Conservative Party at the general election.

It comes after the Prime Minister outraged Labour MPs on Wednesday when he alleged that imam Suliman Gani “supports IS [Islamic State]” and that he had, on nine occasions, spoke on a platform with Sadiq Khan.

But, according to Sky News, the imam voted for Mr Khan’s Tory rival in the 2015 general election and has appeared in several photographs with an array of some of the party’s top politicians.

In fact, Mr Gani had previously been a supporter of Mr Khan but had decided to vote for the Conservatives as he was opposed to the Labour candidate’s vote for same-sex marriage in 2013.

“The Prime Minister’s desperate dog-whistle has totally backfired,” one Labour MP said.

Mr Gani, who was an imam at the Tooting Islamic Centre in Mr Khan’s constituency until 2013, insisted on LBC radio yesterday that he had never promoted hatred or terrorism and was being used as a scapegoat by the Conservatives to discredit the Labour candidate.

Mr Khan has long campaigned against Islamic extremism and has previously described it as a “cancer eating at the heart of our society”.

In a statement published on Mr Gani’s Twitter account on Thursday, he said: “For the avoidance of doubt, I state again that Islamic State is in no way compatible with my beliefs. I condemn IS wholeheartedly, and have done so repeatedly in public and in private since its inception.

“This allegation that has been made about me is a smear on my good name. It is highly distressing to me, my family, and those who know me.”

Responding to the radio interview Labour MP Neil Coyle said the “Prime Minister’s desperate dog-whistle has totally backfired”.

“It now turns out that Suliman Gani campaigned for the Tories at the 2015 General Election, met Zac Goldsmith in November last year and campaigned against Sadiq Khan because of his support for same sex marriage.

“Zac Goldsmith’s refusal to sign up to both the Operation Black Vote and Electoral Commission codes of conduct shows he is trying to mislead his way to City Hall.”

Labour's former shadow cabinet member Rachel Reeves accused the Prime Minister of descending into "gutter politics".

She told BBC Radio 4's World at One: "The insinuation that Sadiq Khan is somehow a friend of Isis is beyond contempt. He is a man of the utmost integrity. He has taken on extremism in the Islamic community and on many occasions he has fallen out with leaders in the Islamic community.”

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The Prime Minister makes no apology for raising very serious concerns about people Sadiq Khan has shared a platform with.

"Suliman Gani, on the night of the Paris terror attacks was in Bedford calling for an Islamic state. He’s said women should be subservient. He shared a platform with him nine times.

"To brand that racist does a disservice to the Labour party."

The latest poll of the contest by YouGov now shows Labour’s Sadiq Khan with a 20-point lead over Zac Goldsmith in the final round of the contest – 60 per cent to 40 per cent.