MP Philip Davies has called on the Government to abolish Sharia councils in the UK to “protect Muslim women”.

The Tory MP, whose Shipley constituency includes Cullingworth and Denholme, urged Prime Minister Theresa May to act to stop the religious law of Islam in the UK and protect vulnerable women.

But Muslim leaders in the district said Mr Davies was “misinformed”, and invited him to learn more about the workings of Sharia systems.

Mr Davies told the House: “Last year I attended a meeting in the House of Lords organised by the wonderful crossbench peer and human rights campaigner Baroness Cox, at which three very brave women told us harrowing tales of how they have been treated and discriminated against by Sharia councils.

“Isn’t it time this alternative discriminatory form of justice was no longer tolerated in this country?”

Mr Davies said he would “continue to push for Sharia councils to be abolished so Muslim women do not feel pressurised into having their cases determined by a Sharia council rather than in the British courts”.

Ayub Laher, president of Bradford Council for Mosques, rejected Mr Davies’ calls, and said the Sharia system was misunderstood.

He said: “There is no such thing as a Sharia Court, it is a council, a kind of mediation system.

“They are for couples to help resolve issues, such as if a woman has been abandoned by her husband or it is a violent or loveless marriage, to have the religious side of the marriage annulled.

“This is not just a Muslim thing, these councils and religious marriage ceremonies exist in all religions.

“It doesn’t act as an alternative to the British courts or legal system.

“It is not just anyone who can sit on a council either, these are experienced Islamic scholars who help people sort out their lives.

“The terminology of Sharia has been taken to the extreme, but it is not as widespread or one-sided as it is made out to be and it isn’t like there are hundreds of these taking place every month, it is a much smaller number.

“I would like an prominent local MP like Mr Davies to come down to speak with us and he is very welcome to come down and find out what exactly goes on.”

Mr Davies said he would be happy to meet Mr Laher, but disagreed with some of his claims. “Yes, other religions have them but I have not seen evidence they discriminate against women in the same way,” he said.