A Labour minister has been criticised for meeting with a controversial Pakistani cleric who claimed that Covid was being spread partly due to women’s immodesty.

Lord Wajid Khan was filmed kissing the hands of Maulana Tariq Jamil while the famous Islamic personality was in Britain for a speaking tour earlier this month.

Jameel is an influential religious figure in Pakistan but he has also delivered some inflammatory and controversial rhetoric.

At the start of the Covid pandemic, it was widely reported that Jameel said that the disease was being spread partly due to the deity's wrath at dishonesty in society and the “immodesty” of women.

Lord Khan (right) was filmed kissing the hands of Maulana Tariq Jamil while the famous Islamic personality was in Britain for a speaking tour earlier this month

At the time, Pakistani Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said the remarks were “absurd.”

The cleric later apologised after suggesting that the virus, which killed over 200,000 people in Britain, was a form of divine punishment.

But in footage uploaded to his social media pages, Jamil has been spotted being greeted by Lord Khan of Burnley, the minister responsible for faith, communities and resettlement.

The Islamic scholar, who is revered in Pakistan with millions of followers on social media, is filmed meeting Lord Khan alongside an entourage. The meeting is filmed by multiple cameras and one man appears to interview him with a microphone as he walks down the street grasping prayer beads.

The cleric later apologised after suggesting that the virus, which killed over 200,000 people in Britain, was a form of divine punishment

Footage uploaded by the cleric shows the Labour minister kissing Jamil’s hands.

The men are later filmed at a “ministerial-style meeting” in an office-like setting, which includes the men sitting in armchairs besides British and Pakistani flags.

Lord Khan of Burnley said that the meeting was not an endorsement of the cleric’s “deeply offensive” remarks.

He said: “Following the death of my mother last month thousands of people have visited, often without invitation, on an open house basis to offer their condolences on this bereavement.

The men are later filmed at a “ministerial-style meeting” in an office-like setting, which includes the men sitting in armchairs besides British and Pakistani flags

“I did not personally invite this individual and this interaction should in no way be seen as an endorsement of these deeply offensive comments, which I condemn entirely.”

Lord Khan was asked to explain his meeting with the cleric by Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick.

“Why is a Government Minister responsible for community relations meeting with a cleric who has made extreme outbursts?

“Why is he hosting a ministerial-style meeting with a self-appointed community leader? What was discussed?"

Jenrick continued: “His actions undermine community cohesion. We need answers and a full account of what happened.”