The Conservative Party said a Tory MP who mentioned “Anglo-Muslim relations” in a now-deleted tweet will not face further action.
Michael Fabricant has been criticised for the comment, with the media spokesperson for Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) accusing him of implying “English and Muslim are separate categories” in a clash on Twitter.
The Lichfield MP has since clarified the tweet, adding: “Nationality and religion are not the same thing.”
Mr Fabricant had replied to Miqdaad Versi, the MCB media spokesperson, who had criticised the Conservative Party over allegations of Islamophobia.
“Your spite and unpleasantness neither does the cause of tolerance in his country nor the cause of Anglo-Muslim relations any good at all,” the MP tweeted in a now-deleted post.
After Mr Versi criticised the response as “totally unacceptable” and suggesting “English and Muslim are separate categories”, Mr Fabricant accused him of “deliberately milking and misreading” his point.
He said he had criticised the spokesperson’s tweets for “being divisive, damaging to Muslim-non-Muslim relations in this country all for his own ends”, and for not discussing Labour’s antisemitism scandal.
Mr Fabricant changed his original tweet to say “relations between Muslims and non-Muslims” instead of “Anglo-Muslim relations”.
“Michael Fabricant has clarified his tweet,” a Conservative Party spokesperson said. “He is raising an important point about how it is the Labour Party that has been investigated by the EHRC for racism.”
They added: “The Conservative Party does not tolerate prejudice and discrimination.”
In a statement released by the party, Mr Fabricant said:“I am clear that there is no connection between religion and nationality which is why I have clarified my tweet accordingly.”
MBC have called for an investigation into the comments, which a spokesperson said implied “Muslims are foreign and alien to the English”.
“Even though the Conservative Party faces hundreds of allegations of Islamophobia, Tory MP Michael Fabricant attacks MCB spokesperson Miqdaad Versi by urging him to look the other way and focus on bigotry elsewhere,” a spokesperson said.
On the “Anglo-Muslim relations” tweet, they added: “The comment, be it inadvertent or not, betrays a view of Muslims institutionalised in sections of the Conservative Party – that Muslims are not part and parcel of British society.”
The Conservative Party has been contacted for comment.
