UK

Official review finds widespread Islamophobia in the Tory Party and failures to investigate internal allegations of racism

Prime Minister Boris Johnson who once compared women wearing burkas to letterboxes and bank robbers

A DAMNING report has identified widespread Islamophobia in the Tory Party as well as failures to investigate internal allegations of racism.

The long-awaited review into discrimination in the Conservative Party published today found that two thirds of all such complaints related to Islamophobia.

Report author Professor Swaran Singh said comments made by Prime Minister Boris Johnson comparing women wearing burkas to letterboxes and bank robbers gave the impression of being “insensitive to Muslim communities.”

Complaints were handled by an under-resourced and inadequately trained team that fell short of best practice, the report adds, saying an overhaul of the system was needed.

But the report said no evidence was found to suggest a problem of institutional racism in the party.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said the review fell short of acknowledging the root causes of bigotry among Tory ranks and fails to address structural Islamophobia.

The council pointed out that the 44,000-page report did not cover a YouGov poll by Tory members commissioned by Hope Not Hate that found that almost half of the membership believe Islam is a threat to the British way of life.

MCB general secretary Zara Mohammed said: “The investigation primarily deals with form over substance. Procedure is important, but it needs to be underpinned by dealing with the deep-seated issues of institutional racism.

“We hope that this is the starting point of the party’s own self-reflection.”

Hope Not Hate said Islamophobia in the Tory Party “runs much deeper” than the few case studies included in Prof Singh’s report. The campaigning group warned that “reforms to structures and processes will not be enough” without steps to address widespread Islamophobic views among the membership.

Anti-racism campaigners also criticised the review, saying it “downplayed the extreme levels of Islamophobia in the party.”

Stand up to Racism co-convener Sabby Dhalu said: “The fact that the governing party contains such levels of racism is an incredibly serious issue because of the direct effect on government policy and the prevalence of Islamophobia in society.

“These issues must be urgently addressed, and maximum pressure brought on the Tories to respect Muslim communities and listen to their experience.”

Labour’s shadow women and equalities secretary Marsha de Cordova described the report as “a damning indictment of the discrimination rife in the Conservative Party — and it goes all the way up to the Prime Minister.”

The independent review was set up in 2019 following a series of serious allegations of Islamophobia in the Tory Party.

Initially called to solely investigate Islamophobia in the party, the review was later widened — and, critics say, watered down — to cover all forms of discrimination, prompting criticism and whitewash concerns.

It has also faced criticism over its narrow remit, which unlike the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s probe into anti-semitism in the Labour Party, did not issue an open call for evidence from civic society beyond the party.

Tory chairwoman Amanda Milling said the party acknowledged failings in the complaints process and will begin work on implementing the recommendations.