29 November 2023 , 13:36
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Rishi Sunak has been told "enough is enough" when it comes to anti-Muslim hatred by one of his own MPs.
The Prime Minister was warned by former Tory minister Rehman Chishti that he needs to do more to tackle Islamophobia. Mr Chishti commended Mr Sunak for "rightly" responding to the "shocking and unacceptable" rise in anti-Jewish hatred, which has rapidly increased since Hamas attacked Israel in October.
But he questioned why Islamophobia was not getting more attention or funding. In a tense PMQs exchange, he said the Government's post for an independent adviser on Islamophobia had been vacant for over year and asked whether Mr Sunak would "finally" take action.
Addressing Mr Sunak, Mr Chishti said: "The Government has rightly responded to the shocking and unacceptable rise in antisemitism and we saw extra funding in the Autumn Statement. I note that 44% of religiously aggravated motivated offences last year were against the Muslim community yet there was no funding in the Autumn Statement to deal with Islamophobia.
"The Government's independent adviser role for Islamophobia has been left vacant for over one year. The Prime Minister knows we have discussed these matters a year ago yet no action has taken place. Prime Minister, enough is enough with regards to tackling anti-Muslim hatred. Will the Government now finally take action?""
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Mr Sunak said: "We won't tolerate anti-Muslim hatred in any form and expect it to be dealt with wherever it occurs. I actually recently met with Tell MAMA, a service that provides support to victims of anti-Muslim hatred, who we have in fact supported with over £6million of funding since its inception and we are in regular dialogue with them. We have also doubled the funding for protective security measures through the protective security for mosques scheme and we will continue to do everything we can to keep our Muslim community safe."
In his Autumn Statement last week, Jeremy Hunt pledged up to £7m over the next three years to charities dedicated to tackling abuse and supporting victims of antisemitism. "I am deeply concerned about the rise of antisemitism in our country, so I am announcing up to £7 million over the next three years for organisations like the Holocaust Educational Trust to tackle antisemitism in schools and universities," Mr Hunt told the Commons.