A British politician's claim that she was sacked from a ministerial job partly because of her Muslim faith should be properly investigated if she makes a formal complaint, according to the nation's Deputy Prime Minister.
Dominic Raab told Sky News UK that his Conservative Party has "zero tolerance for any discrimination" after the allegations of Muslim woman Nusrat Ghani.
Ms Ghani, who lost her job as a UK junior transport minister in February 2020, told the Sunday Times that she was told by a "whip" — an enforcer of parliamentary discipline — that her "Muslimness" had been raised as an issue in her sacking.
"We have absolutely zero tolerance for any discrimination, and any Islamophobia, in the Conservative Party," Mr Raab said.
"A claim like this, as serious as it is, should be properly reported, and then a proper investigation [should take place]."
Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi has also said the allegation should be investigated.
Conservative Chief Whip Mark Spencer has announced that Ms Ghani was referring to him and added that her claims were completely false and he considered them defamatory.
"These accusations are completely false and I consider them to be defamatory," he said on Twitter.
"I have never used those words attributed to me."
Mr Johnson met Ms Ghani to discuss the "extremely serious" claims in July 2020, a spokesperson from the Prime Minister's Office said on Sunday.
"He then wrote to her expressing his serious concern and inviting her to begin a formal complaint process," the spokesperson said.
"She did not subsequently do so."
Ms Ghani said in response that the Conservative Party complaint process was "very clearly not appropriate" because her dismissal related to her position in the government, rather than in the party.
Ms Ghani lost her job in a reshuffle of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government in February 2020, having been appointed to her role at the Department for Transport in 2018.
Born to Pakistani parents in Kashmir, Ms Ghani grew up in Birmingham and went to university in Leeds.
She has served as MP for Wealden in East Sussex, south of London, since 2015.
Ms Ghani has been vocal in her criticism of China's use of Uyghur forced labour in UK supply chains and helped launched a British inquiry.
The Conservative Party has previously faced accusations of Islamophobia, and a report in May last year criticised it over how it dealt with complaints of discrimination against Muslims.
That report also led Mr Johnson to issue a qualified apology for any offence caused by his past remarks about Islam, including a newspaper column in which he referred to women wearing burqas as "going around looking like letterboxes".
The latest scandal for the Conservative Party comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson defies calls to resign in the wake of allegations that he attended illegal social gatherings during the UK's strict, coronavirus-enforced lockdowns.
ABC/wires
