Muslim group demands Tories investigate ‘structural Islamophobia’

Muslim Council of Britain writes to Conservative chair after ‘week of inflammatory statements’

The UK’s largest Muslim group has written to the Conservative Party demanding an investigation into claims of “structural Islamophobia” within its ranks.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said it addressed a letter to Conservative chair, Richard Holden, on Sunday after what it alleged was “a week of inflammatory statements and Islamophobia from senior figures in the party”.

The body pointed to comments made by the former Tory party deputy chair Lee Anderson, who had the whip suspended after drawing widespread criticism for claiming on Friday that “Islamists” have “got control” of London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

It also highlighted remarks made this week by the former home secretary Suella Braverman as well as the former prime minister Liz Truss.

The body pointed to comments made by the former Tory party deputy chair Lee Anderson (PA Wire)

Writing to Mr Holden, Zara Mohammed, secretary general of the MCB, said: “Our view is that the Islamophobia in the party is institutional, tolerated by the leadership and seen as acceptable by great swathes of the party membership.”

The letter criticised the Tories for removing the whip from Mr Anderson only after he refused to apologise for the anti-Muslim rant on GB News, which Mr Khan said was “Islamophobic, racist” and poured “fuel on the fire of anti-Muslim hatred”.

Mr Anderson, who was deputy Tory chairman until last month, said on Saturday: “Following a call with the Chief Whip, I understand the difficult position that I have put both he and the Prime Minister in with regard to my comments. I fully accept that they had no option but to suspend the whip in these circumstances.”

The MCB condemned Liz Truss for remaining silent as Steve Bannon described the far-right’s Tommy Robinson as a ‘hero’ (PA Wire)

However, speaking to the BBC earlier on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden refused to rule out the possibility of Mr Anderson returning from his suspension.

The MCB also accused Ms Braverman of falling into a “well-trodden Islamophobic path” in her assertion that “Islamists are in charge” of Britain in a Daily Telegraph article on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the MCB condemned Ms Truss for remaining silent as Steve Bannon described the far-right’s Tommy Robinson as a “hero”.

It comes as new figures show the number of Islamophobic incidents has skyrocketed since the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas and the retaliatory Israeli bombardment of Palestine. London charity Islamophobia Response Unit (IRU) said there was a 365 per cent increase in reports of Islamophobia in October.

People inspect the damage to their homes following Israeli air strikes on Tuesday in Rafah, Gaza (Getty Images)

A report earlier this week from Tell Mama – another body that records anti-Muslim hate incidents – found there were 2,010 incidents between 7 October and 7 February, more than triple the 600 reported during the same period the year before.

Rishi Sunak has so far failed to address Mr Anderson’s comments or surging Islamophobia across Britain, despite speaking publicly about a rise in “prejudice and antisemitism”.

In a statement on Saturday night, the prime minister highlighted events “of recent weeks”, including pro-Palestinian protests across the country since the 7 October attacks. “The events of recent weeks are but the latest in an emerging pattern which should not be tolerated,” Mr Sunak said.

Rishi Sunak has so far failed to address Mr Anderson’s comments or surging Islamophobia across Britain (PA Wire)

In a statement after Mr Anderson’s suspension, the prime minister said legitimate protests have been “hijacked by extremists” and politicians have been “verbally threatened and physically, violently targeted”.

Sir Keir Starmer said it was right that Mr Anderson was suspended from the party over the “appalling racist and Islamophobic outburst”. The Labour leader also challenged Mr Sunak over wider Islamophobia in the Conservative Party.

“What does it say about the prime minister's judgment that he made Lee Anderson deputy chairman of his party?” Sir Keir said.

He added: “Whether it is Liz Truss staying silent on Tommy Robinson or Suella Braverman's extreme rhetoric, Rishi Sunak's weakness means Tory MPs can act with impunity.”