How damaging is the Tory Islamophobia report?

Coffee House Shots

The Spectator

News, Politics, Government, Daily News

4.4 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 25 May 2021

⏱️ 11 minutes

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Summary

Islamophobia 'remains a problem' in the Conservative party, a report has found. Professor Swaran Singh, who analysed more than a thousand complaints of misconduct for his investigation, said that some Tories needed a 'completely new mindset'.

Boris Johnson himself gave evidence to the inquiry, and when asked about his column saying a group of black people had 'watermelon smiles' said: 'Would I use some of the offending language from my past writings today? Now that I am prime minister, I would not.'

On the podcast, James Forsyth says: 'There's an interesting question now about whether Boris Johnson goes further. Normally he is very reluctant to get drawn into specific newspaper articles.'

And one year on from Dominic Cummings's extraordinary press conference in the No. 10 rose garden, Katy Balls asks Isabel Hardman about how his trip to Barnard Castle changed the course of Boris Johnson's government.

Isabel says: 'It definitely changed a lot of people's attitudes towards the guidance and the reliability of the government.

'A lot of Cabinet ministers will be wishing they had been more clear-sighted in their defence of Dominic Cummings given that they are now all bracing themselves for him to go all guns blazing in this committee hearing tomorrow.'

Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast is sponsored by Canacord Genuity Wealth Management, award-winning wealth managers who go above and beyond to support and guide you.
0:09.3	Visit can-dowealth.com to start building your wealth with confidence.
0:20.6	Hello and welcome to coffee house shots as, Expectators' Daily Politics Podcast.
0:24.9	I'm Katie Balls and I'm joined by James Forsythe and Isabel Hardman.
0:29.2	Back in 2019, Boris Johnson ordered a report into how the party handles discrimination allegations
0:35.0	and into Islamophobia allegations.
0:39.7	And today we've had the findings.
0:44.5	James, can you talk us for him? So this was a review that you might remember. I think Boris Johnson would have bounced into having in that during one of the Tory leadership contest debates, the question
0:48.2	was asking of raise your hands if you think there should be a review into Islamophobia in the Tory party.
0:54.0	And basically, I think Sajadab was the first hand to go up,
0:56.9	and all the hands went up.
0:58.1	I think it became inevitable.
0:59.7	But they were going to have to agree to us.
1:02.4	The report is critical.
1:04.6	It's critical of Boris Johnson's daily telegraph column about women wearing the burkers,
1:08.4	which was a defence of their right to wear the burkers,
1:10.6	but did remark that they looked a bit like letterboxes or criminals when doing so.
1:15.1	Professor Singh, who conducted the review, asked Boris Johnson about it.
1:18.2	Boris Johnson says, do you think the nearest of it's going to, we've got from him to an
1:21.7	apology for some of the things he said, journalistic, said, look, I wouldn't use some of the
1:24.6	language I used as a columnist now that I'm prime minister.
1:28.6	And Professor Singh says, you know, that shouldn't be the in the report, says that shouldn't
	...

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