The chairman of the Conservative Party has been accused of not responding to complaints about Islamophobia, according to internal emails obtained by BuzzFeed.
The emails revealed that two Conservative association chairmen, Ajay Jagota and Gerard Leake, resigned in protest after their complaints about Islamophobia had been ignored for months.
They have accused the CCHQ complaints department and the party chairman Brandon Lewis of failing to take act against a Conservative councillor who allegedly made an Islamophobic remark.
The revelations contradict the party’s claims that it “always taken swift action” on the issue of Islamophobia.
It came amid news that a Conservative Party official informed Mr Lewis and the party’s complaints department about Islamophobic Facebook posts by Conservative members in 2018, but no action was taken until BuzzFeed News presented the posts with the party earlier this week.
According to the emails, a “party official” contacted Mr Lewis and the complaints department last October, asking them to look into whether party members were part of a Facebook group where Islamophobic and racist comments were being posted.
Another email was sent in November, but Buzzfeed reported that no action was taken until they contacted the party with screenshots, which led to 14 members being suspended.
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The Facebook group is called “Jacob Rees-Mogg Supporters”, but has no formal connections to the Conservative MP for North East Somerset.
