Lord Austin suspended as housing association chair after X post

Lord Austin said people had complained about a post he made last weekend (archive image)

Lord Austin has been suspended from his role as a housing association chair following a post on X.

The former MP has since deleted the post - made after Israel implied Hamas was operating under the UNRWA base in Gaza - and said it was not his intention to offend.

Midland Heart said a meeting had been arranged to "discuss his removal from the board".

Michael Gove said he was "deeply concerned" by Midland Heart's actions.

The secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities added: "Not only is Ian a champion for affordable housing, he has spent his career fighting racism."

On X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday, Lord Austin said people had complained about the post he issued last weekend and it "was not my intention to offend anyone and I have deleted it".

He added: "As I have written and said many times - including in a national newspaper today - the vast majority of Muslims are just as appalled by racism and terrorism as everyone else."

On Wednesday, Midland Heart, which is a Birmingham-based social landlord, said on X: "We've been contacted today regarding a post made by our chair earlier this week. He has since clarified the points made in this tweet and deleted the post. We understand the strength of feeling on this issue and like everyone are deeply saddened by the human tragedy."

On the social media platform on Friday, it said Lord Austin had been suspended from his duties and a meeting had been arranged for 1 March "in line with rules of the association, to discuss his removal from the board".

It added Llewelyn Graham, senior independent board member and chief executive of Nehemiah Housing, "will step into the role of chair during this period".