A Conservative general election candidate shared a message on social media claiming Muslims play the “race card” and have a “nasty culture”, in the latest escalation of concern over Islamophobia in the party.

The former BBC journalist Linden Kemkaran, who is standing for the Conservatives in Labour-held Bradford East, retweeted a user on Twitter last week who dismissed Islamophobia as nonsense – describing it as a “crock”.

She retweeted two others who accused the shadow minister for women and equalities, Naz Shah, who is standing in the neighbouring constituency, of being “not white enough” to have experienced Bradford’s “no-go areas” and claimed that the prospective MP’s loyalties did not lie in the city.

Kemkaran also liked a post labelling Shah – who is British-born and of Pakistani heritage – a “Pakideshi” who pushes the “doggy-do-do Muslim narrative”.

It comes after the Conservative party chairman, James Cleverly, apologised on Sunday after a string of allegations of Islamophobia and racism against the party’s candidates. The Guardian revealed on Friday that at least four ministers had gone on election campaigning trips to endorse Tory candidates accused of anti-Muslim hatred.

Kemkaran – who has been pictured with Boris Johnson – became embroiled in a row with Shah after the shadow minister accused her of using “far-right language”, claiming she told young people at a hustings last Thursday that the city had “crime-infested streets” and “no-go areas”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Linden Kemkaran retweeted a user whose Twitter biography reads ‘No to that cult, Islam’. Photograph: Twitter

In response, Kemkaran retweeted a user – whose Twitter biography reads “No to that cult, Islam” – who sent a message to Shah saying: “You are a dunce. There weren’t any no-go areas when I was a kid. Muslims always the victims, play race card, ‘Islamophobia’, what a crock, what a nasty culture. No integration, what makes you think we will accept 3rd world ways and why should we?”

She also retweeted another user who messaged Shah saying: “We know where your loyalties lie, and it’s not Bradford.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kemkaran also retweeted another user who messaged Shah saying: ‘We know where your loyalties lie and it’s not Bradford.’ Photograph: Twitter

She retweeted a third user who accused Shah of being “not white enough” to have experienced Bradford’s “no-go areas”. He wrote: “I worked in Bradford for two years Naz, there is some truth in what Linden said. If you’ve not experienced it, that may be because your face is not white enough.”

Kemkaran, who is fighting to overturn Labour’s 20,500 majority, has since retracted the posts.

The Tory candidate liked a tweet from a user who replied to Shah’s criticism of Kemkaran’s comments abouts “no-go areas” in Bradford, writing: “Pushing the doggy do do Muslim narrative again. Another Pakideshi [who just happens to support rape gangs] pushing her lies via the race card. Truth hurts. There are ‘no go’ areas in #Bradford, crime is 50% above the average – not forgetting their other cultural delights, FGM.”

She also liked another tweet by a user who claimed that she was not able to view a house because the sellers required a “sharia mortgage”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Another retweeet said to Shah: ‘Your face is not white enough.’ Photograph: Twitter

After Shah pointed out on Twitter Kemkaran’s retweeting of the post that declared Islamophobia to be “crock”, the Tory candidate replied accusing her of shutting down debate.

She wrote: “Please @NazShahBfd don’t bother trying to shut me up by crying ‘Islamophobia’, or calling me a racist. Neither is true. I’m standing up for the diverse people of #Bradford who are telling me how it is. You should be listening to people not trying to shut down debate.”

Shah, who has a 20,000 majority in Bradford West, has previously been at the centre of her own controversy concerning social media posts.

The Labour politician liked and retweeted a post in 2017 that said: “Those abused girls in Rotherham and elsewhere just need to shut their mouths. For the good of diversity.” Shah subsequently claimed it had been a mistake.

In 2016, Shah was suspended after antisemitic posts she had made emerged. She was later readmitted and made shadow minister for women and equalities.

On Monday afternoon, Shah submitted an official complaint to Cleverly, calling on the Conservatives to suspend Kemkaran immediately and conduct a full investigation.

In a letter to the Tory party chairman, Shah wrote: “To peddle these far-right tropes – especially an individual standing for office – is not only irresponsible, but hugely dangerous for minority communities … I do not believe it is fit for a parliamentary candidate to retweet a message, victim-blaming Muslims, suggesting attacks on them are nonsense, whilst almost half of all religious hate crime offences in 2018-19 were targeted against Muslims (according to the Home Office); or to assert that Muslims have a ‘nasty culture’.”

Kemkaran spent six years working for BBC News as a news planner, defence and security producer and reporter, according to her LinkedIn profile. She came under fire earlier this month when she compared anti-Tory abuse to the discrimination endured by minorities.

The candidate responded to a tweet suggesting “coming out” as a Tory is “almost worse than coming out as gay in modern western society” by writing: “I made this EXACT point on Facebook last week. If you substitute the word Tory with gay/black/trans, the abuse that is heaped on us is eerily similar to the bad old days of discrimination, bigotry & intolerance.”

She later told PinkNews that as “a woman of colour and Conservative”, she experienced “years of racist abuse and violence, mostly when at school and in my teenage years”.

In July, she wrote a piece for the Spectator highlighting how she received “ranting vitriol” from friends on Facebook after she posted a selfie with Boris Johnson.

The Conservatives, whose leader Johnson claims the party has a zero-tolerance policy on Islamophobia, said an investigation was under way. A spokeswoman said: “This matter is being investigated. Discrimination or abuse of any kind is wrong, and the Conservative party takes decisive action to deal with any incidents of hatred, abuse or intimidation.

“Our complaints process is rightly a confidential one but there are a wide range of sanctions to challenge and change behaviour, including conditions to undertake training, periods of suspension and expulsion, and these are applied on a case-by-case basis.”

Kemkaran has been approached for comment.