27 Labour MPs Write to the Equality and Human Rights Commission Accusing Reform UK of Islamophobia

Max Thompson, Campaigns Officer

29 May 2026

Ahead of the publication of the Government's official definition of Islamophobia — now repackaged as "anti-Muslim hostility" — the Free Speech Union warned that it would be used to silence legitimate criticism of Islam.

The Free Speech Union campaigned passionately against what amounts to the reintroduction of Britain's blasphemy laws, eighteen years after Parliament voted to abolish them. On this occasion, the Government has circumvented both legislation and parliamentary scrutiny, and ensured that the definition applies to Islam alone.

Within 45 minutes of the Communities Secretary announcing the definition in the House of Commons, pro-Gaza independent MP Iqbal Mohamed rose to ask that the non-statutory definition be incorporated into the Nolan Principles of Public Life. This would inevitably expose MPs and peers to sanction for raising concerns about Islam or speaking out on matters such as the grooming gangs scandal and Islamist extremism.

We saw a foretaste of that when the Shadow Justice Secretary and Conservative MP for West Suffolk, Nick Timothy, criticised a public mass Muslim prayer event in Trafalgar Square — one of the UK's most prominent civic spaces. Labour MPs reported him to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, branded him "Islamophobic", and he faced calls from the Prime Minister to resign.

This week, 26 Labour backbench MPs, together with Diane Abbott — who currently sits without the Labour whip — wrote to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) accusing Reform UK of "Islamophobia". They have also called on the EHRC to launch a probe into Reform UK.

In their letter, the MPs claim that "over the last few years, we have seen a number of Reform UK politicians and members make comments that are clearly racist and discriminate against ethnic minorities, and in particular, Muslims."

The group argued to the EHRC's chief executive, Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, that "the prevalence of racism within Reform UK does not exist in a vacuum and has real-world consequences for the millions of British Muslims in our country."

Among the examples of alleged "Islamophobia" cited in the letter are Nigel Farage's criticism of the mass Muslim prayer event in Trafalgar Square, and comments made by Lee Anderson and Sarah Pochin.

Signatories include Afzal Khan — a prominent campaigner for the Islamophobia definition — as well as Clive Lewis, Ian Byrne, and Bell Ribeiro-Addy.

Reform has stood by the comments of its leader and its prominent parliamentarians, insisting the party will not be "intimidated". A Reform source told The Spectator: "We know Labour now kowtow to Islamists for votes. We never will. The British public are tired of pathetic accusations and made-up words such as Islamophobia."

Read more at Sky News.