Former British Deputy Transport Minister Nusrat Ghani claimed on Sunday that she was removed from office in a 2020 government reshuffle because her '
Muslim
' faith posed '
a problem
', reigniting accusations of Islamophobia within the Party Boris Johnson's Conservative already under pressure.
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Nusrat Ghani, 49, told The
Sunday Times
that a Conservative Party executive explained to him in February 2020 that “
his origins and his faith
” had been instrumental in his ousting from government. “
I was told that at the reshuffle meeting in Downing Street my Muslim faith had been raised as an issue, that a Muslim woman in government was making my colleagues uncomfortable and that it was feared that I would not don't be loyal to the party because I wasn't doing enough to defend it against allegations of Islamophobia
," she said.
“
It was like a punch in the stomach.
I felt humiliated and helpless
,” the MP told the newspaper, saying she did not speak about it publicly at the time because she had been warned that she would be “
ostracized by her colleagues
” and that her “
career and reputation would be destroyed
”.
“Anti-Muslim sentiment” in the Conservative Party
In an unusual step, Mark Spencer, party executive, identified himself as the person targeted by these remarks, while denying them.
“
These accusations are totally false and I consider them defamatory
,” he said on Twitter.
They come at an already difficult time for Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party, which is currently in an ejection seat because it has been blamed for a series of parties in Downing Street in full confinement.
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They also come to revive the old demons of the conservatives, long accused of allowing Islamophobia to flourish in their ranks. In May 2021, a report had concluded that “
anti-Muslim sentiment remained a problem within the party
”, faced with a problem of Islamophobia at the local or individual levels but not “
institutional
”.
“
There is no place for Islamophobia or any form of racism in our Conservative Party
,” Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi tweeted, calling for “
A proper investigation
”.
Justice Minister Dominic Raab described the accusations as "
very serious
", warning however that there would be no investigation if the MP did not officially file an internal complaint.
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