Theresa May challenged at PMQs over Tory denial about Islamophobia within their party

Theresa May was asked by Afzal Khan, Labour MP and Shadow Immigration Minister, at PMQs:

“Three weeks have passed since the Muslim Council of Britain wrote to the chair of the Conservative Party to raise concerns about Islamophobia in the Party, and they are yet to receive a reply.

“He has also failed to respond to my letter of 16 June, following reports of what looked like an attempt by Tory HQ to cover up allegations against one of the Conservative Party vice chairs, the honourable member for Mansfield.

“Does the Prime Minister agree with Baroness Warsi and the Conservative Muslim Forum that the Conservative Party is "in denial" about Islamophobia in its ranks?

• ·       Theresa May had no response to why Brandon Lewis has failed to respond to either of these letters.

• ·       Three weeks on, the Muslim Council of Britain has “neither received an acknowledgement nor a reply” from Conservative Party chair Brandon Lewis. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jun/26/muslim-group-accuses-tories-of-turning-blind-eye-to-islamophobia-claims   

• ·       Labour MP and Shadow Immigration Minister Afzal Khan has also not received a reply to his letter to Lewis about Buzzfeed’s report that Tory vice chair Ben Bradley defended a former council colleague over allegations about Islamophobia on social media. https://twitter.com/Afzal4Gorton/status/1007981128341389312   

• ·       According to the story, Bradley described the councillor as someone who “says what he thinks” and threatened a local newspaper with consequences if it pursued similar stories. When Buzzfeed approached Bradley for comment, CCHQ initially issued a misleading statement on his behalf. https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexspence/tory-vice-chair-ben-bradley-defended-a-conservative  

• ·       BBC Radio Nottingham first reported on the councillor on Friday 8 June (from around 2h 25m) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p067rwm0. The journalist tweeted screenshots: https://twitter.com/hughcasswell/status/1004981981870948353?s=21  

• ·       They show images watermarked with ‘Pegida supporters’ and ‘Britain First’. One appeared to have been shared from a group, English Brotherhood, that was referenced in a 2016 book, 'Islamophobia in Cyberspace: Hate Crimes Go Viral', alongside Britain First and the English Defence League. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JkupCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA174&lpg=PA174&dq=%22english+brotherhood%22+facebook&source=bl&ots=qgsysen5bR&sig=wmcGUXf3aYyd5wlenr4_xWuTvyQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjVw8Wlm7_bAhUJGZoKHd62AYwQ6AEIOzAH#v=onepage&q=%22english%20brotherhood%22%20facebook&f=false   

• ·       Another was shared from an account that also shared other Islamophobic content. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php? fbid=10209003921794380&set=a.1603365843179.82250.1207088284&type=3&theatre, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10208470422137222&set=a.4406984491893.186126.1207088284&type=3 and https://www.facebook.com/1207088284/posts/10208185591856643/

• ·       Full text of Afzal Khan’s letter:

I trust you are as concerned as I am to read that one of your vice chairs, Ben Bradley, appears to have tried to gloss over allegations about Islamophobia on social media by one of his former council colleagues, Councillor Mick Murphy, and that Conservative Party HQ does not appear to have initially taken this matter seriously. I refer to the revelations published today by Buzzfeed about Mr Bradley defending Councillor Murphy as someone who “says what he thinks” and threatened a local newspaper with consequences if it pursued similar stories relating to alleged misconduct by elected officials.

The website reports that when it approached Mr Bradley for comment, Conservative Party HQ issued a statement on his behalf that – were it not for the fact Buzzfeed had unearthed the original emails and could confirm the posts had not been removed – might have been taken at face value.

You will no doubt be aware that one of your predecessors Baroness Sayeeda Warsi said earlier this week that Islamophobia is “very widespread” in the Conservative Party and exists “all the way up to the top”, adding: “I do believe it is something the leadership feels can be easily ignored.” It is of very great concern to me that Mr Bradley, who now occupies such a senior position in your Party, behaved in this way in the first place and that CCHQ appears to have colluded with him to try to cover up his actions.

You may also be aware that BBC Radio Nottingham last week reported that Councillor Murphy had posted other Islamophobic material – some that expressed support for anti-Muslim, far right groups. Did Mr Bradley know about these other posts? When he was initially approached in 2016, what checks did he make before defending his council colleague? Was Mr Bradley aware of the sort of material Councillor Murphy was sharing and from what sources? If so, what action was taken at the time?

You will appreciate that any explanation of Mr Bradley’s conduct speaks to your claims of the party having a "clear and fully transparent process for investigating complaints".

In its letter to you last month, the Muslim Council of Britain called for you to set up a “programme of education and training”, which you moved towards with your announcement yesterday. But the MCB’s main issue is and remains the need for an independent inquiry into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party, the call for which has also been supported by Baroness Warsi, the Conservative Muslim Forum, Lord Mohamed Sheikh, the Muslim Women’s Network, and more than 350 mosques.

I hope you will agree that a move to introduce measures to address inclusion, diversity and anti-discrimination in the Party without a root and branch investigation into allegations of Islamophobia in the Party will not win the confidence of Muslim communities.

Given these latest revelations and the very serious questions they raise, do you now consider such an inquiry is absolutely necessary? If not, what explanation can you offer Muslim people, including those in my constituency, that the Conservative Party is treating near weekly disclosures of Islamophobia among its ranks seriously and is not simply in denial or seeking to brush it under the carpet as many people, including Baroness Warsi, fear?