Labour is facing Tory demands to drop a Wes Streeting-backed Islamophobia definition that criticises use of the term ‘Asian grooming gangs‘.
Kemi Badenoch referred to the definition, drawn up by an all-party Parliamentary group (APPG) co-chaired by Mr Streeting in 2018, as she clashed with Keir Starmer at PMQs.
She claimed in the Commons that the report said ‘talking about sex groomers was an example of Islamophobia’.
The APPG on British Muslims said in a statement this afternoon that the definition actually referred to the ‘collective smear and trope being used against all British Muslims’.
The report, co-chaired by Mr Streeting – now Health Secretary – and former Tory minister Anna Soubry, set out a series of ‘contemporary examples of Islamophobia’.
They included: ‘Using the symbols and images associated with classic Islamophobia (e.g. Muhammed being a paedophile, claims of Muslims spreading Islam by the sword or subjugating minority groups under their rule) to characterize Muslims as being ‘sex groomers’, inherently violent or incapable of living harmoniously in plural societies.’
The report also said: ‘We also found that age-old stereotypes and tropes about Islam, such sexual profligacy and paedophilia or Islam and violence, and their modern-day iteration in the ‘Asian grooming gangs’ or ‘Bin Laden’ labels re-emerge in discourses and dispositions which heighten vulnerability of Muslims to hate crimes.’
At PMQs, Ms Badenoch said: ‘The Labour Party has adopted the APPG (all-party parliamentary group) definition of Islamophobia. That same APPG report said talking about sex groomers was an example of Islamophobia. This is exactly why people are scared to tell the truth and the lack of clarity means that innocent British Muslims are smeared by association.
‘That is not fair and only a national inquiry that can solve this. So will the Prime Minister look again at the Labour Party’s adoption of the definition of Islamophobia, its chilling effect and rule out introducing it in government?’
Sir Keir said he would ‘call out any aspect that has prevented anybody coming forward or any case going forward’ when it comes to violence against women and girls, child abuse or child sexual exploitation, adding: ‘Yes, some people will say there should be a further inquiry. I accept that.
‘But that means all the victims and survivors who are going to give evidence need to be in a position to do so, not all of them are, I’ve been speaking to them, there are some who do think they are, it’ll take time.
‘All of the institutions will have to give evidence, that will take time, this will delay things until 2031. But we already know what the major flaws and my argument is we should get on with that action.’
The APPG said Mrs Badenoch had been ‘wrong’ about its report.
In a statement, it said: ‘If the leader of the Opposition thoroughly read the report, she would understand the report speaks about the collective smear and trope being used against all British Muslims, a point which she accepted in her own words, and does not speak about legitimate concerns about criminal activity committed by specific individuals.
‘There is nothing racist or Islamophobic about addressing any crime or protecting victims, regardless of the ethnicity or faith of the perpetrator.’
The group said the definition ‘is not there to stop free speech’, but urged politicians to ‘act responsibly’.
It also pointed to the racist murder of 81-year-old Mushin Ahmed in 2015, who was killed on his way to the mosque in Rotherham by a man who accused him of being a ‘groomer’.
The APPG, which is co-chaired by Labour’s Sarah Owen and Conservative Robbie Moore, said: ‘The whipping (up) of far-right conspiracies on this issue has already taken lives, including in this country.’
Ms Badenoch’s spokesman pointed to her words at PMQs, where she said: ‘I would say to (Sir Keir) that by refusing this inquiry, he is enabling those people who wish to smear all British Muslims based on the actions of a small minority.’
The spokesman also pointed to previous comments by Ms Badenoch on the APPG’s definition, in which she said it ‘creates a blasphemy law via the back door if adopted’.
Posting on X in February last year Ms Badenoch said: ‘We use the term ‘Anti-Muslim hatred’. It makes clear the law protects Muslims. In this country, we have a proud tradition of religious freedom AND the freedom to criticise religion.’
