The fallout from yesterday’s Rupa Huq row seemingly didn’t stop Shadow Rail Minister Tan Dhesi from making similar eyebrow-raising comments on race in the Tory Party. At a fringe event, Dhesi accused Boris Johnson of “getting someone of Asian heritage to do his dirty work” for him. He also said he’d rather see a “white male” in Cabinet than Kwasi or Priti…

“You know, I’d much rather have a white male, who is caring, who’s compassionate, who wants an inclusive society, rather than having somebody like Priti Patel, who’s acting against the interests of the minority communities. I’d rather have somebody who cares about the communities that we live in rather than having someone like Kwasi Kwarteng who is going to gamble with our futures”

“As I said, the Prime Minister is getting somebody of Asian heritage to do his dirty work and that’s why there are accusations of tokenism from so many within the British Asian community”.

Guido doesn’t consider Tan’s comments to be half as bad as Rupa Huq’s. His quote about Boris having an Asian do his dirty work for him, alongside Huq’s referral to Rishi as “a little brown guy”, is indicative that Labour somehow questions the legitimacy of non-white Tory Cabinet ministers. Does anyone get the sense Labour are slightly panicked about the Tories having a more diverse front bench than they do?