Hate Crimes Against Muslim Women

Debate between Baroness Warsi and Baroness Swinburne

Monday 20th May 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Swinburne (Con)]

I assure the noble Baroness that there is extensive engagement to understand the issues affecting British Muslims, including Muslim women. Only last week the noble Baroness, Lady Scott, met a small group of community stakeholders, including Muslim women, specifically to discuss community cohesion and hate crime.

[Baroness Warsi (Con)]

My Lords, it pains me to stand up on this Question, particularly when we are talking about an organisation that should be dealing with monitoring anti-Muslim hatred. I am grateful to my friend, the noble Baroness, Lady Gohir, for giving me sight of her Question and of the letter she sent to my noble friend’s department. To some extent I bear responsibility, as I was there when the organisation was set up. There are deep concerns about its finances, governance, associations and connections, including with the now-defunct Quilliam Foundation—which has associations with think tanks in the United States that are peddling anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia—and with people whom successive Home Secretaries have excluded from the United Kingdom. These are really serious allegations about an organisation that is there to protect Muslims in the United Kingdom. I urge my noble friend to look at these matters seriously. It is important that organisations funded by the Government to protect British nationals of whatever faith have the confidence of the communities they seek to protect.