Muslims demand Tory inquiry into ‘weekly’ incidents of Islamophobia

THE Muslim Council of Britain has urged the Tory party to launch an independent inquiry into what it claims are ‘more than weekly’ occurrences of Islamophobia among representatives.

In an open letter to Tory chairman Brandon Lewis, it lists a series of incidents it says took place during April and May, described as ‘the tip of the iceberg’. The group, which represents more than 500 mosques, schools and associations, said Mr Lewis must ‘ensure racists and bigots have no place’ in the party.

Former party chairman Baroness Warsi said Theresa May should publicly acknowledge that Islamophobia is a problem in the party. Baroness Warsi, who was the first female Muslim cabinet minister, told the BBC: ‘Up to now, sadly, there are certain parts of the party that have been in denial about this issue.

‘It’s burying its head in the sand and now unfortunately it’s playing out in a very embarrassing way, in a very public way.’

Harun Khan, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, told The Independent the number of examples of alleged Islamophobia within the party was a ‘serious concern’.

The allegations put together by the MCB included a ‘consistent record of endorsing Islamophobia’ by Harrow East MP Bob Blackman, including sharing an ‘anti-Muslim’ post by English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson, and being a member of various ‘Islamophobic’ Facebook groups. Mr Blackman said he retweeted Robinson’s post ‘in error’ and was added to far-Right Facebook groups without his knowledge.

A number of other party representatives were said to have shared or ‘liked’ social media posts by Robinson. Among other incidents reported by the MCB were a council candidate who called Islam a ‘violent political ideology’.

A Tory spokesman said: ‘We take all such incidents seriously, which is why we have suspended those who behaved inappropriately and launched investigations.’

The row comes as Labour continues to struggle to address claims of rampant anti-Semitism within its own party.