WATCH Ex-Tory chair slams her party after Sajid Javid dismisses calls for Islamophobia probe
2 min read
The former chair of the Conservative Party has suggested the Tories are guilty of hypocrisy after ministers batted away calls for an investigation into Islamophobia.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid yesterday dismissed a call by the Muslim Council of Britain to launch an independent probe into allegations of anti-Islamic abuse among Conservative members, accusing the MCB's members of "making favourable comments on extremists".
The Cabinet heavyweight, who hails from a Muslim background, said: "For a start, let's just look at who the Home Secretary is in this country. My name is Sajid Javid, I'm the Home Secretary."
But that response has triggered a furious reaction from Baroness Warsi, the ex-Tory chair, who said the party's response to the call undermined the Conservatives' own attacks on Labour over anti-Semitism.
She told ITV News: "What, for me, is deeply disappointing is that I raised this issue with my party long before the ugly head of anti-Semitism raised itself within the Labour party.
"And what I find is that we were quite right to challenge the Labour party on its issue of anti-Semitism, but it now disappoints me and concerns me why we're not prepared to deal with bigotry when it finds itself in our own backyard."
That view was backed by Labour MP Wes Streeting, who said the former Conservative chair was "absolutely right".
The Ilford North MP added: "She’s also brave for calling it out, because calling out prejudice in your own party brings with it untold grief, from people who should be more angry about the prejudice than they are about the people calling it out."
Mr Javid's remarks have also prompted a backlash from the head of the MCB, who accused the Home Secretary of seeking to smear his organisation.
Harun Khan said: "These real concerns of Islamophobia are shared by two Conservative Muslim peers, as well as voices across the spectrum, many of them Conservatives.
"If the response is to instead attack the Muslim Council of Britain, it sadly indicates that the party has no interest in dealing with this matter with the seriousness it deserves."
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