All of the remaining Tory leadership candidates have committed to commissioning an independent investigation into Islamophobia in the Conservative party should they win the contest.
The home secretary, Sajid Javid, a Muslim, has previously called for such action to be taken and asked each of his four rivals to back him during Tuesday night’s hour-long BBC TV debate. Each appeared to nod and express agreement.
“It’s great that we all agree on that,” Javid said and stressed there was a “concern [about] growing anti-Muslim hatred in our country, certainly over the last few years, in all parts of society. And, wherever that is, including in political parties, it must be absolutely rooted out.”
He added: “We are, today, one of the most successful multiracial democracies in the world – whatever your race, whatever your religious background. And that is what we have got to remain.”
The issue was raised by Abdullah Patel, an imam from Bristol, who said he had seen first hand the effects of Islamophobia and asked the candidates whether they agreed that “words have consequences”.
The host, Emily Maitlis, referred the question first to Boris Johnson, reminding him of comments he had made comparing Muslim women wearing the veil with letterboxes and bank robbers, as well as his handling of the Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe case during his time in the Foreign Office.
“In so far as my words have given offence over the last 20 or 30 years, when I have been a journalist and people have taken those words out of my articles and escalated them, of course I am sorry for the offence they have caused,” Johnson replied.
“When my Muslim great-grandfather came to this country in fear of his life in 1912, he did so because he knew it was a place that was a beacon of hope and of generosity and openness, and a willingness to welcome people from around the world.”
After the debate, Patel said he had been unimpressed with the majority of the responses.
Abdullah Patel
(@AbdullahPatel94)Thread
1/So it was me on #BBCOurNextPM and yes, my name is Abdullah, not Tina “our friend from Bristol”. This is the context of the Q and how I think it went:
Abdullah Patel
(@AbdullahPatel94)2/
As an Imam, I’m exposed to many incidents which happen in my community, and of course, as a visible Muslim, I also witness it first hand. I have received numerous incident reports of blatant racism against members of my community, from spitting and swearing at Muslim women…
Abdullah Patel
(@AbdullahPatel94)3/
To asking students coming to my mosque if they had bombs in their bags. The hate is real, and it’s a shame our leaders can’t see it from their high towers. I wanted the candidates to admit that they’ve played a role in peddling this hate, and that things would change…
Abdullah Patel
(@AbdullahPatel94)4/
Hence the very direct Q: Do you accept that words have consequences. What I got as a repsonse was nothing short of disappointing and deluded:@BorisJohnson forgot my name, spoke about his G grandfather and about Iran. Gove used the opportunity to have a dig at @jeremycorbyn…
Abdullah Patel
(@AbdullahPatel94)5/@Jeremy_Hunt used the chance to speak about how he can’t be racist because he has an immigrant wife, and @RoryStewartUK forgot that this is also OUR country. The only positive from the debate was @sajidjavid making them all commit to an independent investigation into…
Abdullah Patel
(@AbdullahPatel94)6/
Islamophobia in the @Conservatives. Take note @BrandonLewis!
Many thanks to the BBC for giving me this chance to speak up for my community, and for @MuslimCouncil @mendcommunity @SayeedaWarsi @MatesJacob for putting pressure on the Tories.Good night#BBCOurNextPM
Johnson also denied that his erroneous suggestion that Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been involved in training journalists had contributed to an increase in her sentence in an Iranian jail.
A spokesman for Javid’s campaign said: “Sajid is deeply concerned about rising division in our society. We are a great country, the world’s most successful multiracial democracy, and there are people from all backgrounds and races in the most senior roles right across society.
“But there is a rise in hate crime across the country and we cannot close our eyes to it.
“Though he does not have any reason to believe there is anything endemic in the Tory party that breeds Islamophobia, no organisation is immune from this cancer.
“So he’s pleased to open up the party to scrutiny – we must have the courage that the Labour party has so sorely lacked.”
