Tories 'will fight racism'

Mr Duncan Smith acted swiftly to sack Mrs Winterton

Racism within the Conservative Party will not be tolerated, its chairman has pledged after a senior Tory was sacked for telling a racist joke.

David Davis was defending his party against accusations from Tory peers that it was "self evident" that there was racism within its ranks and that it was not doing enough to promote better race relations.

I don't think that Conservatives actually know enough people from ethnic minorities

Baroness Flather

He said Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith had acted "rapidly and decisively" in sacking front-bencher Ann Winterton after she told a racist joke at a rugby club dinner, in Cheshire.

But senior black Conservative peer Lord Taylor of Warwick called on the party to adopt a more pro-active approach rather than reacting to bad news.

And Baroness Flather said Mr Duncan Smith should meet Pakistani community leaders in the area to reassure them he wanted to better connect with ethnic minority groups.

Lord Taylor told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Simply sacking Ann Winterton is like putting a sticking plaster over a wound."

Debate

Baroness Flather welcomed the sacking but said more needed to be done.

She told the same programme: "I can't deny that there is racism within the Conservative Party because it is self-evident.

"I don't think that Conservatives actually know enough people from ethnic minorities."

Lord Taylor: More needs to be done to improve race relations

She said they needed to learn more about different cultures and viewpoints.

She said Ann Winterton probably made the joke because she did not know any Pakistani people.

Mr Davis refused to accept that racism within the Conservative Party was "self evident".

Instead he said there were examples of racism throughout British society and racist remark's such as that by the former shadow rural affairs minister was not uncommon in Britain.

But within the party people from ethnic minorities were gaining posts, he added.

"What we have got to do, our duty and responsibility, is to make sure that we don't tolerate the sorts of comments that are offensive to minority communities," he said.

"We are very determined that we should have proper good race relations with proper tolerance and respect for everybody.

Race relations

"We have to be permanently vigilant about this sort of issue, because if we are not, then it is very difficult to actually debate on a rational, civilised, tolerant, respectful basis things like immigration, race relations, asylum seeking."

Mrs Winterton was sacked by Mr Duncan Smith on Sunday for a joke she told at a dinner in her Cheshire constituency of Congleton.

Its punch line had an Englishman throwing a Pakistani out of a train, saying they were "10 a penny" in his country.

The 61-year-old MP has apologised for her remarks.

She was expected to return to London on Monday from Cheshire.