Claims by a former minister that she was sacked because of her Muslim faith should be investigated, according to a Kent MP.

Tonbridge and Malling MP Tom Tugendhat said there needed to be an inquiry into the claims made by former tory MP Nusrat Ghani.

Ms Ghani lost her job as transport minister in 2020 in a mini-reshuffle of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government. She was appointed in 2018.

According to the Sunday Times, she said when she asked for an explanation it was stated her "Muslimness was raised as an issue" and her status as a "Muslim woman... was making colleagues uncomfortable".

The Wealden MP said she dropped the matter after being allegedly told her career and reputation would be 'destroyed' if she raised the issue.

Tom Tugendhat MP was among many expressing support for the Wealden MP.

He posted a tweet saying: "This report demands an inquiry…@Nus_Ghani is a friend, neighbour and valued member of the party. There is no place for racism in @Conservatives.

The two MPs were among eight banned from China last year after defending its citizens' human rights.

Conservative Chief Whip Mark Spencer issued a statement saying Ms Ghani was referring to him and added her claims were completely false and he considered them defamatory.

Mr Zahawi, the education secretary, said there was "no place for Islamophobia or any form of racism" in the Conservative Party, adding that the allegations had to be "investigated properly and racism routed out".

Health secretary Sajid Javid followed, insisting that the Incendiary allegations were properly looked into.

The party has faced claims over Islamaphobia but a report last year found that while anti-Muslim sentiment was still present at local association and individual levels, claims of “institutional racism” were not borne out by evidence.

In a fresh statement today, the MP for Wealden said she that after she spoke to Boris Johnson about what had happened, he wrote to her to say he “could not get involved”, and suggested she should use the internal Conservative Party complaints process.

“This, as I had already pointed out, was very clearly not appropriate for something that happened on government business,” she said.

She added: “Now is not the time I would have chosen for this to come out and I have pursued every avenue and process I thought available to me, but many people have known what happened.

“All I have ever wanted was for his Government to take this seriously, investigate properly and ensure no other colleague has to endure this.”