The Tory Party has been accused of turning a blind eye to racism after members probed for Islamophobia openly celebrated voting for Boris Johnson in the leadership contest.
More than a dozen people who have made anti-Muslim remarks posted images of their votes for the favourite, according to Channel 4’s Dispatches.
It comes after the Conservatives admitted members who are under investigation can still vote in the Tory leadership contest.
Meanwhile a survey of Tory members exposes the hardline views of the 160,000-strong group who’ll choose the next PM.
The poll of 892 Conservative Party members for the programme found 56% thought Islam was “generally a threat” to the British way of life.
And 42% thought having people from a wide variety of racial and cultural backgrounds has damaged society.
(Image: Getty Images)
It also revealed 54% of Tory Party members think Donald Trump would be a good PM and 58% back the death penalty for certain crimes.
The programme, which airs tonight, shows how one member of the Boris Johnson Supporters Group said: “I would ban all Muslim [sic] from entering the whole of Great Britain.”
And a member of the Jacob Rees-Mogg Appreciation Society – not endorsed by the MP – said “Two mega mosques agreed planning permission in Maidstone and Worcester how we feel about this?”, to which another person replied: “WRONG.”
A post quoted from a personal page said: “Islamic filth what a horrific cult.”
Another posted: “Signs you may be Muslim. You have more wives than teeth. You own a £5000 rocket launcher but can’t afford shoes. And most significantly…You wipe your a**e with your bare hand but consider bacon unclean.”
A Tory spokesman said: “Those people making these posts that we have found to be members of the party have been suspended pending investigation. Discrimination or abuse of any kind is wrong and will not be tolerated.”
Jacob Rees-Mogg told Dispatches the Facebook group is not an official supporters’ group, saying: “I absolutely condemn such behaviour. Anyone who behaves in such a way is not one of my supporters and should be reported.”
Last month Conservative chiefs admitted that Tory members under investigation for allegations of Islamophobia will still be able to vote in the contest to pick the next Prime Minister.
Party chairman Brandon Lewis defended the decision to not strip voting rights unless members had been suspended.
He told ITV News there was a “long-standing tradition” in Britain “that you are innocent until proven guilty”.
He added: “If somebody has posted Islamophobic comments and is found to have done that, we act swiftly, we would not accept them as a member of the party.
“But let’s get the difference between the facts and some of the myth… a lot of the cases that people are saying have been referred to the party, and we’ve looked into them, are not members of the Conservative Party.”
