Britain is a tinderbox and our efforts to confront Islamophobia are not good enough

At this week’s Mayor’s Question Time, I asked Sadiq Khan a straightforward but urgent question: why is there still no dedicated Islamophobia training across London’s public institutions?

It’s a question I asked not just as an Assembly Member, but as a Muslim woman who knows what it feels like to live in Britain right now. Recently online, I’ve been told I’m an immigrant who doesn’t belong here. At a street surgery, I was told all Muslims should be killed. At London Bridge station, I was called a Paki and told I should go home.

Islamophobia has been normalised in politics, in the media and in daily life and it now stands at record and alarming levels. Muslims in Britain today live with legitimate fear of being harassed in the street, targeted online, or being viewed with suspicion simply for existing.

And that fear isn’t paranoia. It is rooted in an ugly and worsening reality. The horrific stabbings in Southport last year didn’t just shock the nation—they unleashed something darker. We witnessed terrifying mob violence targeting asylum seekers, Muslims, and anyone perceived as other.

One year on, little has improved. Britain remains a tinderbox. The conditions that led to those outbreaks of hate are not only still here, they are deteriorating by the day. Meanwhile, the silence from much of the political establishment has been deafening.

Worse still, those in power have not helped calm the situation – they’ve inflamed it. When the Prime Minister uses hostile rhetoric about immigrants, it legitimises the very forces that seek to dehumanise entire communities. Meanwhile, GB News and the Reform Party are given free rein to pump conspiracy theories into the mainstream, with barely any challenge.

All of this is happening while many of our public institutions remain fundamentally unequipped to respond. That’s why the absence of Islamophobia training in key London bodies, including the Met Police and the London Fire Brigade, is so dangerous. This isn’t just a symbolic omission, it’s a critical operational failure.

And it’s dangerous for two reasons.

First, it sabotages efforts to address institutional racism. Dame Louise Casey’s review of the Met was clear: change must be structural and cultural. Similarly, Nazir Afzal’s report into the London Fire Brigade revealed deeply embedded prejudices.

If Islamophobia isn’t properly understood or acknowledged as a distinct and systemic form of discrimination, how can those recommendations ever be meaningfully implemented?

Second, it leaves frontline workers without the tools they need to protect the communities they serve. If police officers can’t recognise anti-Muslim hate, don’t understand how it spreads, and aren’t trained to respond effectively, then they can’t do their jobs and public trust continues to erode.

To his credit, the Mayor has acknowledged the threat and has himself been on the receiving end of appalling Islamophobic abuse. City Hall analysis shows abuse targeting the Mayor has doubled since the violence last summer, in line with national trends—and indeed my own personal experience.

Sadiq Khan has said he wants London to stand strong as a bastion against hate and a beacon of hope. Such rhetoric is welcome, but we desperately need that principle translated into practice.

That’s why I’m calling on the Mayor to mandate proper Islamophobia training across the entire GLA family. Because unless we act decisively now, we risk more than losing public confidence, we risk losing lives.

We in the Liberal Democrats have always stood up for equality and against hate. Ed Davey has consistently championed British Muslims and shown real leadership on this issue. Our party was the first to accept the APPG definition of Islamophobia, setting a clear standard for others to follow. We have also been pushing the government to appoint an Islamophobia advisor, recognising the urgent need for leadership and accountability.

It is disappointing that Labour is now dragging its feet on agreeing an accepted definition of Islamophobia. This lack of action sends the wrong message at a time when clarity and solidarity are needed most.

That’s why I will be hosting an event with Ed Davey to celebrate Eid and the contributions of the Muslim community on 16 July (tickets available here) 

Now, more than ever, we must stand together, take real action, and ensure that every institution in Britain is equipped to confront Islamophobia head-on. The Liberal Democrats will continue to lead the way, but we need others to step up too. Our future as a fair, just and peaceful society depends upon it.

* Hina Bokhari is the Liberal Democrat Leader on the London Assembly and the most prominent elected Muslim within the Liberal Democrats.  This article first appeared on Liberal Democrat Voice on 20th June