A British lawmaker has claimed she was dismissed from a ministerial position in the United Kingdom's Conservative government partly because her Muslim faith was making colleagues uncomfortable, the Sunday Times reported.

Nusrat Ghani, 49, who lost her job as a junior transport minister in February 2020, told the paper she was told by a "whip" – an enforcer of parliamentary discipline – that her "Muslimness" had been raised as an "issue" in her sacking.

There was no immediate response to her comments from Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Downing Street office, but Mark Spencer, the government's chief whip, said he was the person at the center of Ghani's allegations.

"These accusations are completely false and I consider them to be defamatory," he said on Twitter. "I have never used those words attributed to me," he added.

Ghani's remarks come after one of her Conservative colleagues said he would meet police to discuss accusations that government whips had attempted to "blackmail" lawmakers suspected of trying to force Johnson from office over public anger about parties held at his Downing Street office during COVID-19 lockdowns.

The scandals have drained public support from both Johnson personally and his party, presenting him with the most serious crisis of his premiership.

"I was told that at the reshuffle meeting in Downing Street that ‘Muslimness’ was raised as an ‘issue,’ that my ‘Muslim woman minister’ status was making colleagues uncomfortable," the paper quoted Ghani, Britain's first female Muslim minister, as saying.

"I will not pretend that this hasn’t shaken my faith in the party and I have at times seriously considered whether to continue as an MP (member of parliament)."

In his response, Spencer said Ghani had declined to put the matter to a formal internal investigation when she first raised the issue last March.

The claim should be properly investigated if she makes a formal complaint, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday.

"We have absolutely zero tolerance for any discrimination, and any Islamophobia, in the Conservative Party," Raab told Sky News on Sunday. "A claim like this, as serious as it is, should be properly reported, and then a proper investigation (should take place)," he added.

The Conservative Party has previously faced accusations of Islamophobia, and a report in May last year criticized it over how it dealt with complaints of discrimination against Muslims.

The report also led Johnson to issue a qualified apology for any offense caused by his past remarks about Islam, including a newspaper column in which he referred to women wearing burqas as "going around looking like letterboxes."

The main opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer said the Conservatives must investigate Ghani's account immediately.

"This is shocking to read," he said on Twitter.

Intimidation and blackmail

Ghani's comments about the whips' behavior also echo allegations from another senior Conservative William Wragg, that some of his colleagues had faced intimidation and blackmail because of their desire to topple Johnson.

"Nus is very brave to speak out. I was truly appalled to learn of her experience," Wragg said on Twitter on Saturday. He has told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that he would meet the police early next week to discuss his allegations.

Johnson has said he had neither seen nor heard any evidence to support Wragg's claims. His office has said it would look at any such evidence "very carefully."

"As with any such allegations, should a criminal offense be reported to the Met, it would be considered," said a spokesperson for London's Metropolitan Police.

Johnson, who in 2019 won his party's biggest majority in more than 30 years, is fighting to shore up his authority after the "partygate" scandals, which followed criticism of the government's handling of a corruption row and other missteps.