UK ruling party suspends 14 members over Islamophobia

Britain’s ruling Conservative Party has suspended more than a dozen of its members after they posted Islamophobic or racist comments online.

News ID: 443781

Date: 06 March 2019 - 16:31

RNA - The Independent said on Tuesday that party officials had decided to suspend a total of 14 members after allegations emerged of their online hate activity against Muslims, mostly on a Facebook page affiliated with senior Tory politician and former foreign minister Boris Johnson.

“We have identified some people who are party members and they have been immediately suspended, pending further investigation,” said a Conservative spokesperson, adding that the page established by Johnson’s fans on Facebook was “in no way” affiliated with the Tory party.

Reports last week suggested that Dorinda Bailey, a Tory council candidate, had approved of the Islamophobic content on the Facebook page, including one demanding all mosques and Muslim worship places in Britain should be “get rid of”.

Muslim campaign groups and senior Tory lawmakers have demanded more action from the Tory leadership on what they believe is a surge in Islamophobic views in the party.

Sayeeda Warsi, a Muslim Conservative politician and member of the House of Lords, said on Tuesday that her party had become institutionally Islamophobic.

“The problem is not just individuals, it's institutional,” said Baroness Warsi, adding that Tory leader and Prime Minister Theresa May and party chairman Brandon Lewis had failed to act on the issue.

“I have been raising these issues for over three years and yet still the party fails to act. We now have daily examples of the most vile racist and Islamophobic comments from both elected representatives and members and still the party remains in denial,” said Warsi, who was the first Muslim woman to become a member of the cabinet under former prime minister David Cameron.

The allegations of Islamophobia in Britain’s ruling party and its suspected inaction come at a time when the opposition Labour party is under huge pressure for alleged anti-Semitist views within its ranks. The Labour leadership has consistently denied it has been tolerant of racism, saying members have wrongly been targeted due to their opposition to Zionism and policies of the Israeli regime.

847/940