HOME Secretary Sajid Javid was accused of resorting to “shoot the messenger tactics” today after he launched a stunning attack on the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB).

The MCB called for a full investigation into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party last week, demanding Tory chairman Brandon Lewis take action over the “weekly occurrences of Islamophobia” from party candidates and activists.

MCB secretary general Harun Khan blasted the Tories for taking no action against MP Bob Blackman’s “consistent record of endorsing Islamophobia,” pointing out nine other instances of Tory Islamophobia in the past two months alone.

Former Tory chair Sayeeda Warsi, who quit the party in 2014 over the government’s “morally indefensible” policy on the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, also backed calls for an independent inquiry, saying there was a “simmering underbelly of Islamophobia” in the party.

But Mr Javid told the BBC Andrew Marr Show: “Look at who the Home Secretary is in this country.”

Asked if he felt an inquiry was necessary, Mr Javid said: “I don’t because who said this? It is Muslim Council of Britain.

“The Muslim Council of Britain does not represent Muslims in this country.”

He added he “would be very suspicious of anything that they have got to say,” pointing out that the previous Labour government had suspended ties with the MCB in 2009 “because too many of their members have had favourable comments on extremism and that’s not acceptable.”

MCB assistant general secretary Miqdaad Versi hit back at Mr Javid’s “shocking” comments, saying: “Rather than engage with the issue and evidence surrounding the Islamophobia within the party, the Tories have resorted to ‘shoot the messenger’ tactics.”

He added: “I'd argue we should engage [with] the evidence, the senior Muslim Tories and Muslim communities who are speaking out on this issue and not engage in ad hominem ‘shoot the messenger’ tactics.

“But perhaps the Tory spin team (same one who supported the [London] Mayoral campaign?) have different ideas.”

Dr Zubaida Haque, a research associate at the Runnymede Trust, also criticised Mr Javid’s  “extraordinary attack,” branding it an attempt to “single out and discredit [the MCB] who along with many others are asking for an inquiry into Islamophobia in Conservative Party.”