The questions the BBC must answer about Abdullah in Bristol

One of the most awkward moments of Tuesday night’s Conservative leadership debate was when a Muslim voter challenged the candidates on anti-Muslim prejudice within their party. The BBC identified the man as ‘Abdullah Patel from Gloucester, speaking from a studio in Bristol’, and described him as an imam. His question stood out because it left Boris Johnson flustered and eventually falling back on his Muslim great-grandfather who immigrated to the UK a century ago. The question also prompted Sajid Javid to urge his rivals to back an independent inquiry into anti-Muslim bigotry within the Tory Party, something they all appeared to agree to.

Shortly after the programme concluded, someone tweeting under the name Abdullah Patel (@AbdullahPatel94) emerges to say he the imam from the programme. His Twitter bio describes him as an ‘imam, primary deputy head, teacher, youth worker [and] trainee counsellor’ with a degree in psychology and counselling. He offered a critique of each candidate’s answer to the question posed on-air:

So if @AbdullahPatel94 is, as he claims and the BBC seems to believe, the Abdullah Patel from the debate, the Corporation has some serious questions to answer about how extensively it vetted him.