Former prime minister Tony Abbott says he no longer stands by his controversial 2017 claim that "Islamophobia hasn't killed anyone".

Mr Abbott made the remark in June 2017 in the immediate aftermath of the London Bridge terror attack, arguing officials were too scared of offending Muslims to debate Islamic terrorism properly.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott. Credit:

The former prime minister said he would not make the same observation now, following the Christchurch massacre in which 50 people were shot dead while they prayed in mosques.

"We should never be fearful of condemning terrorism and the evil ideologies that purport to drive it," Mr Abbott told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.