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| Suliman Gani: Michael Fallon forced to apologise to imam for Isis link as Cameron faces pressure over Khan claims | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has been forced to apologise to the former imam who he accused of supporting Isis - amid pressure on David Cameron to do the same. | Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has been forced to apologise to the former imam who he accused of supporting Isis - amid pressure on David Cameron to do the same. |
| The Prime Minister, speaking in the House of Commons under Parliamentary privilege two weeks ago, said Suliman Gani, a Tooting Imam who has shared platforms with new London Mayor Sadiq Khan, “supports IS”. | |
| Mr Ghani has now launched legal action against Mr Fallon, after he repeated the claim in a radio interview last week. | |
| A spokesperson for Mr Fallon said the Defence Secretary had been quoting BBC presenter Andrew Neil. | |
| “He was unaware of the clarification and apology that the BBC had issued on Neil's claim,” the spokesperson told the Daily Mirror. | |
| “Had he been aware, he would not of course have quoted him and as soon he became aware he put the record straight. He naturally apologises for this inadvertent error.” | |
| Friends of Mr Gani issued a statement calling the claims against him false and “cruel and irresponsible in the extreme”. They have launched a petition calling for Mr Cameron to retreat the allegations. | |
| Mr Gani has demanded an apology from the Prime Minister, who had said in Parliament of Sadiq Khan: "He stood on a platform with people who wanted an Islamic state. | |
| "That is why his attempts to deal with antisemitism are utterly condemned to failure, because he won’t even condemn people who sit on platforms with people like that.” | |
| Hours after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reminded the PM that Mr Gani was in fact a Conservative supporter, Mr Gani told Sky News he thought the allegations were "preposterous". | |
| The imam stressed he had never supported the terror group, saying: "I have openly condemned the barbarity and monstrosity of Isis." |