According to the Sunday Times, a British lawmaker said she was sacked from a cabinet position in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative government partially because her Muslim faith made colleagues uncomfortable.
Nusrat Ghani, 49, who was fired from her job as a junior transport minister in February 2020, told the publication that a "whip" - a parliamentary discipline enforcer - told her that her "Muslimness" was a factor in her dismissal.
Johnson's Downing Street office did not immediately respond to her remarks, but Mark Spencer, the government's chief whip, acknowledged he was the subject of Ghani's charges.
"These accusations are completely false and I consider them to be defamatory." "I have never used those words attributed to me," he said on Twitter.
Ghani's comments come after one of her Conservative colleagues said he would meet with police to discuss allegations that government whips tried to "blackmail" lawmakers accused of attempting to force Johnson out of office over public outrage over parties held at his Downing Street office during COVID lockdowns.
The controversies have eroded Johnson's personal and party's public support, putting him in the most huge crisis of his premiership.
As he said, "I was told that at the reshuffle meeting in Downing Street that 'Muslimness' was raised as an 'issue', that my 'Muslim women minister' status was making colleagues uncomfortable," the paper quoted Ghani, Britain's first female Muslim minister.
"I will not pretend that this hasn't shaken my faith in the party and I have at times seriously considered whether to continue as an MP (member of parliament)."
Spencer responded that when Ghani first presented the concern in March, she declined to have the situation subjected to a formal internal review. The Conservative Party has been accused of Islamophobia in the past, and a study released in May of last year chastised it for how it handled allegations of prejudice against Muslims.
Johnson also issued a conditional apology for any harm caused by his previous remarks about Islam, including a newspaper editorial in which he described women wearing burqas as "going around looking like letterboxes."
Keir Starmer, the head of the major opposition Labour Party, said the Conservatives should look into Ghani's claim right away.
He said further on Twitter, "This is shocking to read."
https://twitter.com/Keir_Starmer/status/1485009933238157317?s=20
Ghani's remarks about the whips' behavior echo charges made by another senior Conservative, William Wragg, that some of his colleagues were subjected to harassment and extortion as a result of their desire to unseat Johnson.
"Nus is very brave to speak out. I was truly appalled to learn of her experience "On Saturday, Wragg announced it on Twitter. According to the Daily Telegraph, he plans to meet with the police early next week to address his accusations.
Johnson stated that he had neither seen nor heard any proof to back up Wragg's assertions. His office has stated that it will "very carefully" any such evidence.
London's Metropolitan Police’s spokesperson said, "As with any such allegations, should a criminal offence be reported to the Met, it would be considered."
After the "party gate" controversies, which followed criticism of the government's handling of a corruption case and other missteps, Johnson, who gained his party's largest majority in more than 30 years in 2019, is working to bolster his power.
Johnson, who has frequently apologized for the parties and said he was unaware of many of them, has admitted to attending what he claimed was a professional event on May 20, 2017, when social mixing was mostly prohibited. Employees were urged to "bring their own booze" to the gathering, according to the invitations.
Sue Gray, a senior civil servant, is set to deliver a report to the parties next week, and several Conservative lawmakers have said they will wait for her findings before making moves to remove Johnson.
Gray was also investigating whether any rule-breaking parties were conducted in Johnson's private Downing Street flat, according to the Sunday Times.
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