The truth is that the Islamists, the extremists and the anti-Semites are in charge now. They have bullied the Labour Party, they have bullied our institutions, and now they have bullied our country into submission.

In a BBC radio interview a few days later, former Conservative Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland said of these comments: "To then say that we are being controlled or that they are in charge is I think to ramp things up in a way that is inaccurate, unnecessary and doesn't actually allow us to have a proper debate."