British Prime Minister Boris Johnson today ordered an investigation into allegations that a member of parliament from his Conservative Party was fired from the position of Secretary of State because she is a Muslim.
It is the latest in a series of accusations against the Conservative government that question Johnson's survival in power.
Former Secretary of State at the Ministry of Transport, Nusrat Ghani, said that when she was fired in 2020, she was told that her colleagues did not feel comfortable because of her Islamic faith.
She stated that she was criticized for not being loyal to the party because she allegedly did not sufficiently defend her against accusations of Islamophobia.
Conservative Party official Mark Spencer, who confirmed he spoke to Nusrat Ghani in 2020, dismissed her claims as "completely false".
Johnson has asked government officials "to establish the facts of what happened," his office said, adding that the prime minister "takes very seriously" the Ghani MP's claims.
Ghani was elected to parliament in 2015, making her the first member of parliament of the conservative Muslim faith. She assumed the position in the executive branch in 2018.
Although the progress was used by the Ghanaian Conservatives to claim that they were "the party of opportunity", the party under Johnson found itself accused of continuing to inherit anti-Muslim prejudice. In 2018, when he was not yet prime minister or party leader, Johnson himself compared women wearing burqas to mailboxes.
Johnson's health and education ministers, Sajid Javid and Nadeem Zahavi, have backed Nusrat Ghani and said her claims must be investigated.
Nusrat Ghani's claims brought additional problems to Johnson's party, which was divided in previous weeks due to the fact that the prime minister and his associates did not respect the strict measures against the coronavirus, but attended parties while ordinary citizens were "locked" in their homes.
Part of the conservative MPs demanded the resignation of Johnson because of the scandal.
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