Since taking office in July 2019, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has faced several crises, including those relating to Islamophobia, party-gate reports, Brexit, and inflation. PM Johnson has now re-ordered an investigation against the Islamophobia allegedly prevailing within the party, which has impacted his popularity. Johnson has also tendered a third-time apology in and outside the parliament on the issue of Islamophobia and violation of Covid rules. He is still facing intense pressure to resign as prime minister.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, several members of parliament, member of the cabinet and civil officers (guilty of Covid rules violations in Sue Gray report) may have to face a fixed-penalty charge.” says Barrister Abdul Qudoos, a legal expert.. He explains that according to law, it’s not a serious crime. The prime minister and others guilty of such violations have the right to appeal against the charges. The prime minister has a moral obligation and can quit voluntarily; however, there is no legal necessity, he adds.

A spokesperson at No 10 made this clear in a statement that the names of those getting a fixed penalty will not be published.

An excerpt from the 12-page Sue Gray report says, “It‘s a failure of leadership and judgment by different parts of Number 10 and the Cabinet Office. Several gatherings should not have been allowed to take place. The behaviour surrounding these gatherings was challenging to justify. The meetings represent a severe failure to observe the high standards expected of those working at the heart of government.

Sue Gray interviewed 70 individuals, examined emails, photographs, entry logs etc and found that such gatherings and parties insult the grieved people affected by Covid, especially disabled people. “No 10 had promised only to consider publishing fuller evidence once police inquiries have ended.” But a spokesperson said that Johnson would ask Sue Gray to make a further update to her report.

In his statement, Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, called the Sue Gray report an affront to people who had made heart-wrenching sacrifices during the Covid Lockdown and called the Boris Johnson a “Shameful PM” who should resign.

The survey reveals that while the Tory Party engages in Islamophobia, the Labour Party cannot claim to be innocent on that count. 29 percent of its Muslim members report suffering from Islamophobia within the party. 44 percent don’t believe the party takes it seriously.

The ruling Conservative Party is also facing the issue of Islamophobia. The party’s law-makers Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, MP Nusrat Ghani, MP Naz Shah, MP Rozina Khan, MP Rupa Haq, MP Afzal Khan, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Natasha Asghar, Zara Sultana, Hina Bokhari, a Lib Dem councillor and London assembly member, are among the dozens of Muslim elected members who have faced discrimination and Islamophobia.

YouGov survey revealed in its report that Islamophobia is there all the way, “right to the grassroots of the Tory party”. Six out of 10 Tory members believe that Islam “is generally a threat to Western civilisation”, and 45 percent believe the racist lie about “no go areas” for non-Muslims, and nearly half don’t want a Muslim prime minister. “This is daily life for Muslims. It has become so normalised to spout Islamophobic hate. It rose by 375 percent the week after Boris Johnson compared veiled Muslims to letterboxes.” A new survey carried out by YouGov found that the British public is almost three times more likely to hold prejudiced views of Islam than they are of other religions.

The survey reveals that while the Tory Party engages in Islamophobia, the Labour Party cannot claim to be innocent on that count. 29 percent of its Muslim members report suffering from Islamophobia within the party. 44 percent don’t believe the party takes it seriously.

In another recent survey conducted by the University of Birmingham, titled Islamophobia in Contemporary Britain, it was found that “people from middle and upper-class occupational groups are more likely to hold prejudiced views of Islam than people from working-class occupational groups.”

The survey, which was carried out in conjunction with YouGov, found that 23.2percent of people from the social group ABC1 harbour prejudiced views about Islamic beliefs compared to 18.4 percent of people questioned from the C2DE group. However, when asked their opinions about Muslims, or most other ethnic or religious minority groups, older people, men, working-class people and Conservative and Leave voters are consistently more likely to hold prejudiced views.

A candidate for councillor in Hounslow belonging to the Tory Party, Zubair Ahmed Awan, says Islamophobia is a poison for the “diverse British society” where more than 345 languages are spoken, and 45 nations are living together. Commenting on the recent inquiry, Awan says that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has initiated the inquiry after the complaint of MP Nusrat Ghani. “Let us wait for the outcome,” he says.

The writer is a correspondent for Geo News, daily Jang, and   The News in London