The Conservative Party chairman James Cleverly has publicly apologised for Islamophobia in the party.
Mr Cleverly said he is “sorry” for documented cases involving both Tory members and candidates, adding that there is now “a robust mechanism” in place to deal with the issue.
An inquiry into Islamophobia will be set up this year with preparatory work already under way ahead of its formal launch next year, he said.
“We have been doing, in parallel to the General Election campaign, preparatory work ahead of [its launch] and we’ll be making a more formal announcement as soon as the election is done,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“But we are and absolutely have always been clear on this. We recognise that in mass membership organisations that there will always be people that say and do things which are completely inappropriate.”
He added: “Well, of course, I’m sorry. And I’m sorry when, you know, people do or say things that are wrong. I am confident that my party has a robust mechanism for dealing with it.”
But Mr Cleverly said there is a “massive gulf” between the scale of Labour’s anti-Semitism crisis and the issue of Islamophobia in the Conservative Party.
“The scale of the problem in the Labour Party is an order of magnitude plus different, plus what we’re seeing today is their absolute refusal to deal with it is a massive part of the problem,” he said.
Asked about Mr Johnson's column describing Muslim women wearing burkas as letterboxes and bank robbers, Mr Cleverly said the Prime Minister had already apologised and that the article was “a defence of liberal democracy”.
Mr Johnson apologised for “hurt and offence” caused by Islamophobia within the Conservative Party ranks earlier in the election campaign, after long-serving Tory MP Parvez Akhtar called on Mr Johnson to "unequivocally apologise" for comments he made about Muslim women.
On Sunday morning Labour faced further intense questions over its handling of anti-Semitism cases within its ranks, prompting shadow chancellor John McDonnell to say it could cost his party seats on December 12.
