The United Kingdom’s Conservative Party has suspended a number of its members for reportedly sharing Islamophobic posts online, the BBC reports.
The decision was taken after British newspaper The Guardian said in a recent article that «15 current and 10 former Tory councillors have posted, shared or endorsed Islamophobic or other racist content on Facebook or Twitter», citing a dossier that it obtained from an anonymous Twitter user.
According to Conservatives, the «swift action» was made «on not just anti-Muslim discrimination, but discrimination of any kind».
The dossier handed to The Guardian was given to the Conservative Party, which has promised to launch an investigation.
Speaking to the BBC, a Conservative spokesperson said that the names listed in the dossier «had been suspended immediately, pending investigation».
«That's why we are already establishing the terms of an investigation to make sure that such instances are isolated and robust processes are in place to stamp them out as and when they occur», the same source said.
Commenting on the disclosures, the Muslim Council of Britain said that «Islamophobia was endemic in the Conservative Party».
The Guardian’s disclosures come as the UK is expected to host general election in December. According to a new research, Muslim voters are expected to have «high» or «medium» impact in 31 marginal seats in next month’s election.