The UK's only female Muslim minister was recently bombarded with emails from a Conservative activist praising Enoch Powell's 'Rivers of Blood' speech and questioning whether immigrants should be allowed to stand for parliament. Shipping Minister Nusrat Ghani received correspondence from David Proudfoot, a constituent and party activist, which said the UK should be controlled by “our own people, not people from a different culture” and called for an end to “ghettoes like little Pakistans.” Ghani said the messages were “disgusting”.
Several Downing Street and senior Conservative MPs were copied in on many of the emails, sent over the past three years. The correspondence emerged as the Tories continue to fight off claims that Islamophobia is endemic within the party. It was revealed last month that some party members believe home secretary, Sajid Javid should not become prime minister because of his Muslim background. Ghani, who was born in Kashmir and brought in Birmingham, was the first Muslim woman to speak at the dispatch box in the House of Commons. She is Proudfoot's MP in Wealden, East Sussex.
In one of the emails, Proudfoot wrote, “It is widely accepted that the country is being dragged down by certain undisciplined immigrants and the British people demand a resolution. Should we allow immigrants to be elected to our parliament? Do we not have 650 men and women of heritable British people that are in intelligent enough to run our country? We want to be controlled by our own people, not people from a different culture.” In another correspondence sent in June 2017, which was copied to John Redwood and Javid, Proudfoot forwarded an email claiming “the British have passively succumbed to the Muslim invasion” and added that its content was “95 per cent right”.
He wrote, “Immigrants coming here think they have won the lottery but they rarely integrate... We finish with ghettoes like little Pakistans. Can anyone say that Enoch Powell wasn't right with his 'rivers of blood' speech?” Immigrants were also compared by Proudfoot to a
swarm of locusts” that he said should be “chemically sprayed or the wheat plants are stripped bare and eaten.” Ghani condemned Proudfoot's comments saying, “As a party, we are clear that discrimination or abuse of any kind is wrong and will not be tolerated, and I am pleased we have taken action against such disgusting behaviour,” she said in a statement released through the Conservative press office.
Former party chairman Sayeeda Warsi said the issue of anti-Muslim bigotry was symptomatic of Theresa May's leadership and followed the prime minister's shift to the right on immigration issues. Lady Warsi, who is currently in talks with party's officials about confronting Islamophobia, said the unearthing of a sustained campaign of abusive emails raised further concerns for May and senior Conservative figures. “When senior members of the party like Nus Ghani who identify as Muslim are subjected to such ongoing Islamophobia abuse and harassment, it raises concerns about the abuse that more junior members of the party are having to endure at a grassroots level,” she said. Toby Illingworth, the chair of Wealden Conservatives, said Proudfoot was no longer a member of the party.
Prime Minister Theresa May has been under pressure for over a year to deal with allegations of Islamophobia within the party. Over dozens of examples of online abuse are currently being investigated by Tory officials.
