Theresa May has defended her party's record on tackling anti-Muslim prejudice, after a leading organisation accused the Conservatives of "turning a blind eye" to Islamophobia.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) wrote to party chairman Brandon Lewis, renewing its demand for a wide-ranging inquiry, after receiving no formal response to its call for an investigation last month.

But the Prime Minister insisted the Tories were taking action on any reports of Islamophobia within the party, telling the House of Commons: "Anti-Muslim discrimination is wrong. There is no place for it in our society."

General secretary Harun Khan first wrote to Mr Lewis in May, highlighting a string of incidents involving Tory representatives, ranging from allegedly offensive tweets to accusations of links to the far-right.

But he said he received "neither an acknowledgement nor a reply" from the party, while fresh allegations of racism continued to emerge from Muslim members.

In his new letter, Mr Khan told Mr Lewis: "Since we last wrote to you, other individuals have shared with us their stories of experiencing Islamophobia.

"They are worried about taking their concerns to your party because it would be 'political suicide' or might endanger their relationship with their local MP.

"This is a sad state of affairs for our democracy and we hope they can be taken up in an independent inquiry."

He cited claims that one party member was told he looked "too Muslim" and "wouldn't be accepted", while another was allegedly told he was "not welcome" in the party.

On one occasion, five Tory members from ethnic minorities were seated on a single table at the back of the room at a Conservative association dinner, said the MCB.

The MCB welcomed "positive steps" including Mrs May's visit to a mosque to mark the anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire and an article in which Mr Lewis promised to "stamp out anti-Muslim abuse or discrimination" within the party.

But Mr Khan added: "It is unclear how these statements and warm words align with the apparent tolerance for Islamophobia detailed here.

"We cannot have an approach where you are hoping that the issue would magically go away so that (you) could avoid a bruising inquiry into anti-Muslim prejudice."

Challenged about the MCB's concerns at Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons, Mrs May said: "Anti-Muslim discrimination is wrong. There is no place for it in our society. That's why, when I was home secretary, I required the police to specifically record anti-Muslim hate crime, so that we could understand better what was happening and better tackle the issue.

"Within the party, we've introduced a new code of conduct.

"We investigate any allegations of Islamophobia that are made relating to members of the party. Those are investigated, action is taken, and in some cases members have been suspended or expelled from the party as a result."

The MCB's initial letter raised concerns about Zac Goldsmith's campaign for the London mayoralty and the social media activities of MP Bob Blackman, as well as a string of Tory councillors and candidates suspended over allegedly Islamophobic comments.

It led to a spat between the party's two most prominent Muslim figures, as former minister Baroness Warsi accused Home Secretary Sajid Javid of "shooting the messenger" after he said the MCB did not represent the majority of British Muslims.

Ministers broke off contact with the MCB under the former Labour government in 2009 over alleged links with extremism.

By Andrew Woodcock