Veteran Mancunian Labour MP Afzal Khan and 29 fellow Parliamentarians have provided a forthright response to Tory Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy’s “rampant racism”.
| Daniel Greenberg CB Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards 18th March 2026 Dear Daniel, I am writing to raise my deep concern about the conduct of Nick Timothy, MP for West Suffolk. On 17th March, Nick Timothy MP posted on X regarding an Open Iftar event in Trafalgar Square for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. His post featured a video of individuals, including the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, praying. In his post, Timothy made deeply Islamophobic remarks, claiming that by praying in Trafalgar Square – something people of many different faiths have done and indeed will do again in coming weeks to mark Palm Sunday – Muslims are making a “declaration of domination”. This feeds into the far-right trope of the “Great Replacement” theory, whereby Muslims are claimed to be “taking over” and actively attempting to seize control of Western societies. He claims in the post that this “domination of public places is straight from the Islamist playbook”, implying that a number of people attending the event – who were overwhelmingly but not exclusively Muslim – are terrorists. This is, of course, another well-versed Islamophobic trope, applying suspicion to all Muslims, and treating every Muslim as collectively responsible for the actions of a few. In the post, he also claimed that these rituals “are not welcome in our public places and shared institutions”. He reiterates that this “act”, of Muslims using the public space in Trafalgar Square to host an event for people of all faiths and none to come together and share a meal together was “of domination and therefore division”. He has never said that Diwali, Hannukah, Vaisakhi, Easter or indeed any other celebration belonging to a different faith group isn’t welcome in our public places, are acts of domination or are causing division. This specific singling out of Muslims further demonstrates his desire to cause division and spread hostility and hatred against Muslims. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that Nick Timothy MP, the Shadow Justice Secretary, has singled out Muslims and made statements that have been widely rebuked and labelled as Islamophobic. He has championed several policies that actively discriminate against Muslims, including calling for a register of imams and mosques, the hijab to be banned for school children, sharia marriages to be criminalised and public funding for mosques and Islamic centres to cease. He has deliberately not proposed any measures that target any other minority or faith group. The words and actions of Nick Timothy MP create a hostile working environment, particularly for Muslim MPs. This post and others of his only serve to encourage further abuse and threats of violence against Members of this House, of which I know you recognise is already at an all-time high. I have no doubt that anti-Muslim hatred like this will have a lasting impact on our politics, our Parliament and the public’s engagement with it. This behaviour violates the House of Commons Code of Conduct and the Seven Principles of Public Life, in particular the principles of objectivity, honesty and leadership. Given Timothy is an elected Member of Parliament and a prominent member of the shadow cabinet, I would therefore implore you to launch an investigation into his behaviour, as it is evident his rampant racism not only seeks to stoke the flames of division in our society, but risks bringing the entire House into disrepute. Yours sincerely, signed Afzal Khan MP Member of Parliament for Manchester Rusholme |
Signatories to the letter included:
Alex Bellinger MP
Dr Alison Gardner MP
Andrew Cooper MP
Apsana Begum MP
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Dame Chi Onwurah DBE MP
Fleur Anderson MP
Baroness Shaista Gohir
Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece
Ian Bryne MP
Imran Hussain MP
Iqbal Mohammed MP
Lord Khan of Burnley
Kim Johnson MP
Lee Barron MP
Lorraine Beavers MP
Matt Western MP
Lord Mohammed of Tinsley
Mohammad Yasin MP
Nadia Whittome MP
Navendu Mishra MP
Naz Shah MP
Rebecca Long-Bailey MP
Dr Sam Rushworth MP
Sarah Owen MP
Tan Dhesi MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Zarah Sultana MP
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi