Excerpt:
A senior Conservative peer has written to Theresa May backing calls for an inquiry into Islamophobia within the party, The Independent can reveal.
Lord Sheikh, who served as an adviser to David Cameron, has called on Ms May to look into the issue, describing it as a “matter of grave concern to the many Muslim members and supporters of the party”.
In his letter to No 10, Lord Sheikh highlights Zac Goldsmith’s London mayoral election campaign in 2016, Bob Blackman MP hosting Tapan Ghosh, an Indian Hindu nationalist, in parliament, and the lack of Muslim candidates in the last general election.
“I call on you as the prime minister to take the following two steps immediately. Firstly, set up an independent inquiry – we must investigate instances of Islamophobic conduct and isolate them swiftly,” Lord Sheikh says in the letter seen by The Independent.