Loading…

By Staff, Agencies UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday ordered an inquiry into claims that Tory lawmaker Nusrat Ghani was fired from her ministerial job during a cabinet reshuffle in 2020 because of her "Muslimness", with Downing Street announcing that the PM “takes these claims very seriously." UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, is to be questioned by the Whitehall investigation into a Tory lawmaker’s claim that her Muslim faith got her sacked from the Government, reported The Telegraph.

Nusrat Ghani, who was appointed Parliamentary under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport in 2018, but lost her position to Kelly Tolhurst amid a cabinet reshuffle in February 2020, had purportedly privately confided in Javid, who quit as Chancellor in the same shakeup.

Ghani had approached Javid shortly after being allegedly told by Chief Whip Mark Spencer that she was fired, in part, due to her “Muslimness”, stated the publication.

At the time, Javid supported the sacked junior transport secretary’s desire to pursue the issue, as he acknowledged the gravity of her claims, writes the outlet.

He had also ostensibly agreed to keep the matter confidential.

Ghani, Tory MP for Wealden, had, accordingly, gone to Johnson in July 2020 to lay bare her claims, states the report.

However, it is suggested that No 10 officials had become aware of the allegations even before Ghani spoke of them to the PM When they confronted Spencer over them, claim sources, the Chief Whip adamantly denied ever making the comments implied.

While Boris Johnson suggested to Ghani –the first female Muslim government minister in UK history - that she should submit a complaint to the Conservative Party, the lawmaker was cited over the weekend as saying she had deemed this not appropriate over “something that happened on government business.” Johnson ordered an inquiry into the Islamophobia row on Monday, with Downing Street announcing: "The prime minister has asked the Cabinet Office to conduct an inquiry into the allegations made by Nusrat Ghani MP At the time these allegations were first made, the Prime Minister recommended to her that she make a formal complain to CCHQ [Conservative Campaign Headquarters].

She did not take up this offer.

The Prime Minister has now asked officials to establish the facts about what happened.

As he said at the time, the prime minister takes these claims very seriously."

Original Article Source: Al Ahed News | Published on Tuesday, 25 January 2022 10:31 (about 794 days ago)