Michael Fabricant won't be disciplined by Tories over 'Anglo-Muslim' remark

Jewish MP will be subject to a formal complaint from the Muslim Council of Britain but the Conservatives won't reprimand him

A Jewish MP who talked about “Anglo-Muslim” relations will not be reprimanded by the Conservative Party but will be subject to a formal complaint from the Muslim Council of Britain.

Michael Fabricant MP deleted his tweet on Wednesday but not before it had been widely shared and reviled on social media, where users pointed out that Brits who adhere to the Islamic faith were both ‘Anglo’ and ‘Muslim’.

Arguing online with Miqdaad Versi of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), the MP for Lichfield said allegations of Islamophobia in the Conservative Party would harm “Anglo-Muslim relations”.

He later changed it to “relations between Muslims and non-Muslims”, saying: “I deleted it because some people chose to misinterpret it… Religion/no-religion and nationality are two different matters.”

The Conservatives said Fabricant had “clarified his tweet”, with Fabricant adding: “I am clear that there is no connection between religion and nationality.”

However, an MCB spokesman said: “Even though the Conservative party faces hundreds of allegations of Islamophobia, Tory MP Michael Fabricant attacks an MCB spokesman by urging him to look the other way and focus on bigotry elsewhere.

“In doing so, Mr Fabricant betrays his own prejudices by accusing English-born Miqdaad Versi of hindering ‘Anglo-Muslim’ relations. The implication is that Muslims are foreign and alien to the English.”

The MCB has repeatedly asked the Equality and Human Rights Commission to investigate Islamophobia in the Conservative party, submitting a dossier of more than 300 complaints. The EHRC, which investigated the Labour Party over antisemitism, has consistently refused to investigate the Conservatives.