David Cameron has issued an apology to Suliman Gani, the Muslim cleric he accused of supporting Islamic State in the House of Commons, saying he regrets “any misunderstanding” that had arisen.

The prime minister had been under mounting pressure to respond after the defence secretary Michael Fallon said sorry to Gani, who had begun legal action against him for repeating the claim that he supported the extremist group outside the Commons, where parliamentary privilege does not apply.

Cameron had claimed Gani was a “supporter of IS”, in heated exchanges in the Commons in April, when he questioned the judgment of London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan for repeatedly sharing a platform with him.

On Wednesday night, a No 10 spokesman said: “In reference to the prime minister’s comments on Suliman Gani, the prime minister was referring to reports that he supports an Islamic state. The prime minister is clear this does not mean Mr Gani supports the organisation Daesh [Isis] and he apologises to him for any misunderstanding.”

LBC radio revealed on Wednesday that lawyers acting for Gani had been instructed to sue Fallon after he repeated the remarks about him outside the Commons and specifically referred to Daesh, another name for Isis.

Gani, who was previously the imam at the Tooting Islamic centre, found himself at the heart of a Conservative attack on Labour’s candidate, Sadiq Khan, in the run-up to the London mayoral elections.



Cameron and the Tory candidate, Zac Goldsmith, said Khan had shown poor judgment by sharing a platform with Gani nine times. The prime minister, speaking in the House of Commons, said Gani supported Isis and held questionable views about women and gay people.

Cameron’s spokesman had sought to play down the controversy on Wednesday, saying the prime minister had engaged in a positive phone conversation with Khan, who won a convincing victory over his Conservative rival.

“Keep going on about the campaign for the next four years: that’s fine; but we’re focused on the future. We’re focused on jobs, policing and housing, he said.”

Asked at prime minister’s questions by the Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, to apologise for the tone of the Goldsmith campaign, which was seen as divisive by many observers, including some senior Conservatives, Cameron refused.

Immediately afterwards, a Downing Street spokesman conceded that Gani had in fact supported “the creation of an Islamic state,” rather than backing the extremist organisation, but insisted Cameron would not apologise, before finally issuing a statement on Wednesday night.

A spokesman for Fallon insisted the defence secetary had been quoting the BBC reporter Andrew Neil. “Michael made clear he was quoting a claim by Andrew Neil on a BBC mayoral debate programme. He was unaware of the clarification and apology that the BBC had issued on Neil’s claim.



“Had he been aware, he would not of course have quoted him and, as soon as he became aware, he put the record straight. He naturally apologises for this inadvertent error.”

Gani told LBC that he feared for his life as well as those of his family and children. He said he was “deeply shocked and greatly disheartened” that instead of getting an apology from the prime minister, Fallon reiterated the comments “without any shred of evidence”.

London-based Muslim preacher Suliman Gani said he was shocked by Cameron’s allegations. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

“It is really stressful, my family are upset,” he said. “I am utterly shocked that someone of such a high-ranking position, the defence secretary, can make such a preposterous statement.”

Gani said the use of the word Daesh by Fallon made clear what the allegation was, adding that he had no choice but to take legal action. “I need to take this matter as far as I can stretch it and unless I get a retraction I don’t think I can continue living peacefully among so many people who don’t know me,” he said.

He said he was very concerned about the safety and security of his family because people might use the prime minister’s statement to attack him. Gani said he had been unable to eat because of stress, and added: “I have been treated very badly.”

Dr Shuja Shafi, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, welcomed Cameron’s “long overdue apology” to Gani.

He said: “I call on both the prime minister and the defence secretary to make that apology in parliament.

“Such smear-by-association has become all too common for Muslims and Muslim organisations. It is a cancer blighting sections of our political and media class and has infected the solemn business of government.



“For the real extremists we are all opposed to, such tactics will only provide fresh new examples of a society not willing to accept Muslims for who they are.

“I also call for an urgent review of Islamophobia in the Conservative party, just as the Labour party is rightly conducting an inquiry into antisemitism. We should have zero tolerance for both antisemitism and Islamophobia.”