6th March 2019 • article
After Tories suspend 14 members for Islamophobia, Sayeeda Warsi says party is 'institutionally racist'
Image: BBC
The Tory Peer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi lashed out at her own party today, accusing it of 'institutional racism', after 14 party members were suspended yesterday for posting anti-Muslim comments.
She told the BBC she had kept quiet about the problem for several years so that the matter could be dealt with internally.
But now she says she had had enough.
She also told HuffPo: "I cannot hand on heart tell young Muslims that this party is a welcoming place for them, and that they will have equal worth and equal value here, or that the way that they are insulted will be taken as seriously as insults against people from other communities – no I can’t."
At times it feels like Sayeeda Warsi is running a one-woman campaign to get the Tories to clean up their act.
But today she also received support from the (now) independent MPs Ann Soubry and Heidi Allen
Yesterday she told BBC News the party was still not doing enough.
"They haven't dealt with Members of Parliament who retweeted Tommy Robinson, they haven't dealt with Members of Parliament who have made Islamophobic comments, they haven't dealt with Members of Parliament who have hosted Islamophobes in the Houses of Parliament..."
Last week the anti-racist group Hope Not Hate said the Conservative party was "in denial" about anti-Muslim feeling among members and voters. It specifically pointed out MPs like Boris Johnson for comparing niqab-wearing woman with "bankrobbers" and "letterboxes".
She told the BBC she had kept quiet about the problem for several years so that the matter could be dealt with internally.
But now she says she had had enough.
“As an ex-party chairman, I wanted this matter to be dealt with internally, that’s why for two years this did not become public… nothing was done, it was dismissed†@SayeedaWarsi on Islamophobia claims in Conservative Party#politicslive https://t.co/I42IJz0Psb pic.twitter.com/Hht27Uk3pt
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) March 6, 2019
She also told HuffPo: "I cannot hand on heart tell young Muslims that this party is a welcoming place for them, and that they will have equal worth and equal value here, or that the way that they are insulted will be taken as seriously as insults against people from other communities – no I can’t."
At times it feels like Sayeeda Warsi is running a one-woman campaign to get the Tories to clean up their act.
But today she also received support from the (now) independent MPs Ann Soubry and Heidi Allen
.@SayeedaWarsi is courageous & loyal. I know she has explored every avenue privately & with determination to call out #Islamaphobia in @Conservatives Her numerous complaints must now be investigated as part of an independent enquiry. And swiftly. https://t.co/69H4rLV6pv
— Anna Soubry MP (@Anna_Soubry) March 6, 2019
Yesterday she told BBC News the party was still not doing enough.
"They haven't dealt with Members of Parliament who retweeted Tommy Robinson, they haven't dealt with Members of Parliament who have made Islamophobic comments, they haven't dealt with Members of Parliament who have hosted Islamophobes in the Houses of Parliament..."
Earlier today on â¦@BBCNewsâ© pic.twitter.com/HsGBGTYmui
— Sayeeda Warsi (@SayeedaWarsi) March 5, 2019
Last week the anti-racist group Hope Not Hate said the Conservative party was "in denial" about anti-Muslim feeling among members and voters. It specifically pointed out MPs like Boris Johnson for comparing niqab-wearing woman with "bankrobbers" and "letterboxes".
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Barfi Culture is a news-magazine on people of South Asian heritage living in Europe and North America. We don't cover South Asia directly.
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