‘Islamophobic’ Tory councilor escapes punishment
A Conservative Party councilor who was accused of making Islamophobic comments on social media has escaped any form of sanction over her behavior.
Dorset Tory councilor, Beverley Dunlop, made a series of inflammatory posts in two different Facebook groups attacking Muslims and their way of life.
In one post Dunlop suggested banning mosques in the UK by way of effectively rooting out institutional expressions of Islam in the British Isles.
In another post she said [Islamic] “fundamentalists” were “hiding in plain sight in the Muslim community” and that this would not change “until they are frightened of the British government (because they and their families might get deported) than they are Isis [Daesh]”.
However, a supposedly “independent” investigation has concluded that Dunlop did not breach the council’s “code of conduct”.
According to lead investigator, Tim Darsley, Dunlop had been acting in a “personal capacity” as opposed to an “elected official” when she posted the comments on social media.
A Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council standards committee is expected to be asked to accept Darsley’s findings.
Dunlop’s prejudiced views came to light after a dossier containing Islamophic comments made by several Tory councilors was sent to the Guardian (November 12, 2019).
The decision not to punish Dunlop has been sharply criticized by Bournemouth University lecturer, Osman Ahmed, who made a formal complaint against the Tory to the council last November.
According to Ahmed, Dunlop’s comments have brought the council into “disrepute” and she ought to be “removed from her position”.
"Religion is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, and expressing disrespectful, ignorant, and frankly hateful views such as these [Dunlop’s] is wholly incompatible with a councilor holding public office”, Ahmed added.
Official denials notwithstanding, the Conservative Party has been struggling with Islamophobia-related issues for years.
Earlier this year the Muslim Council of Britain published a research document setting out the depth and breadth of Islamophoba among the Tory rank and file.
In November 2019, Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, backtracked from his earlier promise of holding an independent inquiry into Islamophobia in the Tory Party.
Instead, the PM called for a “general investigation into prejudice of all kinds”. Nearly a year later no reported progress has been made in relation to this “general investigation”.
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