The British government launched an investigation on Monday into religious discrimination allegations made by Nusrat Ghani, a conservative lawmaker who claimed a few days ago that she had been dismissed from her job as Minister of Transport owing to her Muslim faith.

Downing Street confirmed that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has requested the British Cabinet Office to initiate an investigation into the matter, a decision that Ghani has praised, despite the fact that she was advised just days ago to register a formal complaint to kick off the process but did not.

The Secretary of Education, Nadhim Zahawi, who endorsed the need for a fair probe in this regard on Sunday, said to the Sky News network on Monday that Johnson has informed Ghani that the cabinet will investigate what happened.

Ghani accused Mark Spencer, a senior member of her party, of dismissing her from her role as Minister of Transport at the Johnson Government’s reshuffle in February 2020 since her religious views could cause a trouble.

According to Ghani, Spencer would have said that her status as a Muslim minister made many colleagues “uncomfortable”, who would also view her alleged lack of loyalty with concern because she would not be doing “enough” to defend the conservative party from accusations of Islamophobia.

On Saturday night, Spencer identified himself as the subject of Ms Ghani’s claims in a series of tweets.

He claimed the allegations were “completely false and defamatory” and disputed ever using the terms mentioned by Ms Ghani.

Spencer went on to add it was “disappointing” that she had declined to report the matter to the Conservative Party for a formal investigation at the time.

He claimed he had previously testified in the Singh investigation into the Conservative Party’s handling of discrimination allegations.

Spencer first stated that the probe “concluded there was no credible basis for the claims,” but then updated the post to include the words “to be included in the report.”

Prof Singh’s 2021 study found “evidence of discrimination” in the Conservative Party, despite the fact that it was “not systemic,” and recommended that the complaints process be changed.

In a tweet, Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, said there was “no place for Islamophobia or any form of racism” in the Conservative Party, adding that the allegations had to be “investigated properly and racism routed out”.

There is no place for islamophobia or any form of racism in our @Conservatives party. @Nus_Ghani is a friend, a colleague & a brilliant parliamentarian. This has to be investigated properly & racism routed out. #standwithNus

— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) January 22, 2022

Health Secretary Sajid Javid also said the matter needed “a proper investigation” and that he would support Ms Ghani “in making a formal complaint”. “She must be heard,” he added.

Image Credit: Getty

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