Conservative MPs have complained to party whips after Katie Lam said many legally settled people should be deported to make the UK \u201cculturally coherent\u201d, the Guardian has learned.<\/p>\n
Lam, seen as a rising Tory star, said last weekend<\/a> she believed \u201ca large number of people\u201d living legally in the UK should have their right to stay revoked and \u201cgo home\u201d. \u201cWhat that will leave is a mostly but not entirely culturally coherent group of people,\u201d she told the Sunday Times.<\/p>\n Her remarks have triggered alarm among Tory MPs. \u201cIf we are using phrases like that we need to explain what they mean,\u201d one said. \u201cCulturally coherent: it\u2019s either dog-whistle or it\u2019s so vague it\u2019s meaningless.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Go home\u2019 is a chant used by people who are bigoted or racist \u2013 so we have to be very careful when using phrases like go home, when talking in particular about legal migration. Politicians, especially ones who aspire to be in leadership frontline roles, should use language that is appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n A senior Tory said: \u201cAll this time Lam has been seen as number two to Robert Jenrick. That seems to have shifted post-conference where it looks like she\u2019s now trying to take his spot on the hard right of the party. In trying to do so she has upset a lot of colleagues.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is what happens when you are new to the party and don\u2019t really understand what it is about. There is a line but she has gone so far past it, it is just a dot to her.\u201d<\/p>\n Lam has been tipped as a future Tory leader and is seen by colleagues as a close ally of Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, and Nick Timothy, the Tory MP and former special adviser.<\/p>\n A number of Conservative MPs have privately criticised Lam\u2019s remarks and the matter has been raised with party whips. A party spokesperson declined to comment.<\/p>\n Badenoch\u2019s spokesperson said on Wednesday that Lam\u2019s comments were \u201cbroadly in line\u201d with party policy<\/a>, which was interpreted by some as an endorsement and others as a gentle rebuke.<\/p>\n It is understood that Lam\u2019s comments prompted concern within Badenoch\u2019s office about \u201cfreelancing\u201d by a very junior shadow minister.<\/p>\n