A former minister in Britain's Conservative government says she was told her Muslim faith was a reason she was fired, a claim that has deepened the rifts roiling British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative governing party.
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Former Transport Minister Nusrat Ghani told the Sunday Times that when she was demoted in 2020, a government whip said her "Muslimness" was "making colleagues uncomfortable."
She said she was told "there were concerns 'that I wasn't loyal to the party as I didn't do enough to defend the party against Islamophobia allegations.'
Chief Whip Mark Spencer said he was the person that Ghani was talking about, but strongly denied her allegation.
The Conservative Party whips' office said Ghani's claims "are categorically untrue."
"The Conservative Party does not tolerate any form of racism or discrimination," it said in a statement.
The prime minister's office said Johnson met with Ghani to discuss her concerns in 2020, and invited her to file a formal complaint, but that she didn't do so.
