Health Secretary Sajid Javid is set to face questions from the Whitehall investigation into whether Tory MP Nusrat Ghani was sacked due to her ‘Muslimness’.
It is thought that Ms. Ghani privately confided to the Health Secretary after she stated that her Chief Whip, the Conservative party chief whip, had said she was fired partly because of her faith.
According to The Telegraph Mr Javid recognized the seriousness and urgency of the allegations. He urged Mrs Javid to take the matter to a higher level, but he also honored her request for confidentiality.
After Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he takes Ms Ghani’s allegations seriously and instructed the Cabinet Office investigate them, the Cabinet Office was forced to take the matter further.
After Nadhim Zahawi, Cabinet minister and Javid joined the call for a “proper” inquiry — with others suggesting that it should be completely independent – this was the time to make the move.
Mr Johnson told reporters on a visit to Milton Keynes University Hospital this morning: ‘We take these allegations extremely seriously. They were brought up with me 18 years ago and I was very serious about them.
‘Very glad there’s an investigation taking place now, can’t say more really about it.’
Sajid Javid (Health Secretary) will face Whitehall questions about the Whitehall probe into whether Nusrat Khani, Tory MP, was dismissed for her “Muslimness”.
Nusrat Ghani, the Tory MP representing Wealden in East Sussex (pictured), has claimed that her “Muslimness” was brought up when she was dismissed as Transport Minister in February 2020
Downing Street announced the probe this morning, with a Number 10 spokeswoman saying: ‘The Prime Minister has asked the Cabinet Office to conduct an inquiry into the allegations made by Nusrat Ghani MP.
‘At that time, these accusations were made for the first time, Prime Minister suggested to her that she file a complaint to CCHQ. The offer to her was not accepted.
“The Prime Minister asked the officials to verify what actually happened.
“As he stated at the time: The Prime Minister takes such claims seriously.
Ms. Ghani claimed that Mark Spencer, chief whip, said she got the boot because of her faith – something Spencer flatly denies.
Mr Johnson was asked this morning if Mr Spencer will remain in his role while the investigation is carried out and he replied: ‘Just to get back to the key point, this is something I take personally extremely seriously. It was something I considered very serious 18 months ago. We must wait and see what the investigation produces.’
Ms Ghani has contradicted No10’s version of events, saying the PM refused to get involved and tried to fob her off.
Ms. Ghani demanded that the terms for the probe include “all that was said at Downing Street, and by the Whip”.
Ms. Ghani said, “As I stated to the Prime Minister last evening all I want for this is that it be taken seriously and for him investigate.”
“I accept his decision now.
“The inquiry’s terms must contain all of what was spoken in Downing Street or by the Whip.
“I look forward seeing the terms and conditions.”
In a round of interviews this morning, Mr Zahawi welcomed the news, but stressed he did not think the allegations had been taken lightly before.
According to him, he had not personally experienced any racism in the Conservative Party.
Sky News received the following statement from the Education Secretary: “She made a serious allegation. Last night, the Prime Minister spoke with her and indicated that the Cabinet Office would look into this.
“She made a statement last evening saying that, in fairness to herself, these could have been people who were not even Conservative Party members. This is why it’s important to quickly get to the bottom.
“And of course Chief Whip Mark Spencer (Mark Spencer), has come out to name himself the person and I work alongside both the colleagues. It is important that somebody like a Cabinet Office senior Civil servant should examine this thoroughly, as the Chief Whip also denied it.
An independent thinktank has asked the Government for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, (EHRC), to investigate these claims.
Runnymede Trust is a thinktank that promotes race equality. It says this issue is too crucial to leave to civil servant-led inquiries.
The Guardian was informed by Dr Halima Begum, chief executive: “This is an extremely serious situation. The allegation that Dr Halima Begum was fired as minister to the Crown for her so-called “Muslimness” would be a serious challenge to equality and labor laws.
“The very highest authority must immediately investigate the facts and any questions regarding the legality of the events that occurred here. This investigation cannot be left to another civil service inquiry. If these allegations were true, Nusrat could have faced discriminatory treatment.
‘[Her]Every one of the three million Muslims living in this country will feel the pain, along with every member of any of our religious minorities. Every political party must do more to show zero tolerance for discrimination and prove that all religious minorities are valued in this country, regardless of faith.
Caroline Nokes was chair of the Commons Women and Equalities Committee. She described Ms Ghani’s treatment as “appalling”.
The Telegraph also reported that she supported calls for an EHRC investigation. She said: “Her faith has not made me [or any other coworker] uncomfortable.”
“At the most, EHRC ought to have a look.”
According to an EHRC spokesperson, the Commission is continuing to investigate the Conservative Party’s handling last year of the Singh inquiry regarding Islamophobia complaints. A full investigation could also be undertaken.
A spokesperson added that if progress is not satisfactory, we will reconsider our decision [not to begin an immediate review]’
Nadhim Zahawi, in a round interview this morning, welcomed the news of a Cabinet Office investigation
Pictured left, the PM has directed the civil service’s investigation into the unusual claims made by Ms Ghani. Mark Spencer (right), who identified himself to be the whip involved, has called out Ms Ghani and labeled her comments as ‘false’ and ‘defamatory.
Following the announcement Ms. Ghani insists that the terms of reference must include ‘all the things said by Downing Street or the Whip’
Elsewhere, a Tory MP sparked anger after he said Ms Ghani was ‘hardly someone who is obviously a Muslim’.
Michael Fabricant claimed that the time of the claims by the former transport minister was “very suspicious”, and suggested it might be connected to efforts to eliminate Boris Johnson in the Downing Street lockdown scandal.
Yesterday, Labour described Mr Fabricant’s comments as ‘shameful’ and called for the Conservative whip to be withdrawn.
Fabricant stated that the timing was interesting when he spoke on LBC. This is all because Boris Johnson has been openly scrutinized by the party, and they are trying to put pressure on Johnson to step down.
Nus Ghani says, “I think that the whole thing is actually disgusting.”
“She is not a Muslim. She didn’t even know what religion she was. I find it rather lame that she was fired for this reason.
David Lammy, Shadow Foreign Secretary, tweeted in response: “What an appalling and disgraceful thing you say.”
The Tories could remove Michael Fabricant’s whip if they wanted to demonstrate that they care about Islamophobia.
Anneliese Dodds, chair of Labour Party Anneliese Dodds stated that the Tories’ response to Ms Ghani was shameful.
“For Michael Fabricant to be a Conservative MP and make comments on radio that mirror exactly the kind of unacceptable behavior Nusrat has brought up shows how serious the problem is in the Conservative Party,” she stated.
Ms. Ghani was supported by Education Nadhim Zhawi and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, two of the most prominent Muslims in Cabinet.
Both of them took to Twitter and supported her, requesting an investigation into Spencer’s claims.
He identified himself as the whip in question and called Ms. Ghani’s remarks ‘false and defamatory.
Dominic Raab (Justice secretary) also stood by to defend the party. He claimed she hadn’t called for an investigation.
Javid stated that Ms. Ghani was “a credit to Conservative Party”, adding, “This is a serious matter and requires a proper investigation.” Her making a formal complain is something I support strongly. She should be heard.
After Mr Zahawi’s tweet, his intervention claimed that he had said: “There is no room for Islamophobia or any type of racism within our Conservative party. Nusrat Ghani is a friend, a colleague & a brilliant parliamentarian. This has to be investigated properly & racism routed out. #standwithNus’ .
Ms Ghani, who was the first Muslim woman to be elected as a Tory MP in 2015, told the Sunday Times she was told by a party whip she was being axed in February 2020 because her status as a Muslim woman and a minister was ‘making colleagues feel uncomfortable’.
She also claimed she was warned that if she continued to raise the issue then her ‘career and reputation would be destroyed’.
But yesterday morning Downing Street revealed that Ms Ghani had complained directly to the PM in 2020. A spokeswoman said: ‘After being made aware of these extremely serious claims, the Prime Minister met with Nusrat Ghani to discuss them.
“He sent her an email expressing concern about her and asking her to initiate a formal process of complaint. She didn’t do this.
After that statement was released, Ms Ghani said: ‘When I told the Prime Minister in June 2020 what had been said to me in the Government Whips’ Office I urged him to take it seriously as a Government matter and instigate an inquiry.
He wrote me to say that he was unable to get involved. I suggested using the internal Conservative Party complaints process.
“This, as you already noted, was clearly inappropriate for something that occurred on Government business. I don’t even know if I was told about the reshuffle meetings at Downing Street by Conservative Party members.
Yesterday Justice Secretary Dominic Raab stood behind him, saying that Ms. Ghani would need to file a formal complaint in order to initiate a specific investigation.
Ms. Ghani claimed that Mark Spencer, chief whip of the Ministry of Justice, said she was a Christian and got the boot for her faith in 2020
