A future Conservative government would commission an investigation into the application of sharia as part of moves to combat extremism, home secretary Theresa May announced today.

‘We know… we have a problem, but we don’t yet know the extent of the problem,’ she said in a speech outlining proposed measures to tackle extremism in Britain.

‘For example, there is evidence of women being “divorced” under sharia law and left in penury, wives who are forced to return to abusive relationships because sharia councils say a husband has a right to “chastise”, and sharia councils giving the testimony of a woman only half the weight of the testimony of a man.

‘We will therefore commission an independent figure to complete an investigation into the application of sharia law in England and Wales.’

Other measures that would be introduced by a majority Conservative government include closure orders for ‘extremist’ mosques and banning orders.

Charlie Klendjian, secretary of the Lawyers’ Secular Society, welcomed the announcement. ‘This parallel legal system has been left to fester for far too long, by politicians of all stripes, and it high time a blinding light was shone on to it.’

Read the speech.