Sajid Javid is engaging in “dog whistle” politics, a senior Conservative has said as she claimed right-wing party members believe he is “far too Muslim” to become leader.

Speaking after 14 members were suspended over Islamophobic remarks posted on social media, the former Tory minister Baroness Warsi also called for an independent inquiry into “institutional” Islamophobia in the party.

Baroness Warsi – the first Muslim to have a seat at the cabinet table – said there was “no doubt” the home secretary Mr Javid was a leadership contender and was “playing to a specific audience”.

But she told BBC 2 Newsnight: “He should read what these people are saying because however much he dog whistles, however much he panders to the right of our party, sadly the right of our party believe he’s far too Muslim to be the leader of the party.

“And therefore I think it’s important for us all, as colleagues, people who believe in the centre ground of politics, not to pander to this kind of politics.”

Asked about the row over antisemitism in the Labour Party, she added: “I think the only difference for me is that for me it’s felt like a really lonely fight.

“I think however difficult and nasty it has been for colleagues within the Labour Party, they have had support from each other, from senior people within their party and quite hypocritically from people in my party.

“That’s what I’ve found so difficult to deal with – the political hypocrisy of calling out bigotry in other political parties, but failing to deal with it in your own backyard.”

She also criticised the prime minister, adding: “Well Theresa May is not really a great talker and doesn’t really like to talk to colleagues about these matters in a frank and open way, so it’s been difficult to engage her.”

Her comments came after the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) described the suspension of 14 individuals from the Tory ranks over Islamophobic and racist comments as “astonishing”

“We’ve seen MPs, councillors and members engage in bigotry that should have no place in a modern Conservative Party,” spokesperson for the MCB said.

The comments were first highlighted by Twitter user @MatesJacob. Screenshots of the posts were then passed by The Independent to Conservative Party HQ, which confirmed that action was being taken against 14 of 25 individuals named. The remaining 11 were found not to be members of the party.

In response to the latest revelation, a Conservative spokesperson said: “This Facebook group is in no way affiliated with the Conservative Party and many of the people identified on it are not party members.

“However, we have identified some people who are party members and they have been immediately suspended, pending further investigation.

“When we find evidence of members making offensive or inappropriate comments, we consistently take decisive action. Discrimination or abuse of any kind is wrong and will not be tolerated.”