PM's ethics adviser investigates Tory MP Nus Ghani's Islamophobia claim
- Published
Nus Ghani made the accusations in January last year
Rishi Sunak's ethics adviser has taken over an investigation into claims by a Tory MP that she was sacked as a minister for being Muslim.
Nus Ghani said a party manager told her "Muslimness was raised as an issue".
Labour has said it is "disgraceful" that an investigation into her allegations launched last January has yet to be completed.
The probe was delayed following the resignation of then-PM Boris Johnson's ethics adviser Lord Geidt.
He left in June and was not replaced until December when Mr Sunak appointed Laurie Magnus, who will now carry on the inquiry.
Labour party chair Anneliese Dodds has been pushing for the investigation to be completed, saying the delay "tells you everything you need to know about the Conservatives' commitment to tackling Islamophobia".
Asked about the inquiry, Head of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission Marcial Boo said he would be following up on it with Sir Laurie.
Ms Ghani first made her accusation in the Sunday Times in January 2022.
When appointed to a post at the Department for Transport in 2018, she became the first female Muslim minister to speak in the Commons.
Former chief whip Mark Spencer has denied Ms Ghani's claims
After losing that job in a mini-reshuffle of Boris Johnson's government in February 2020 she asked Conservative Party whips for an explanation.
"I was told that at the reshuffle meeting in Downing Street that 'Muslimness' was raised as an 'issue'," she said.
'Ostracised'
She added that she was told: "My 'Muslim women minister' status was making colleagues uncomfortable and that there were concerns 'that I wasn't loyal to the party as I didn't do enough to defend the party against Islamophobia allegations'."
The Wealden MP told the paper she had dropped the matter after being told that if she "persisted" she "would be ostracised and her career and reputation would be destroyed".
"I raised it several more times through official party channels.... I was extremely careful to follow procedure, and when the procedure ran out of road I had no choice but to get on with my career."
In a later statement she said: "Not a day has gone by without thinking about what I was told and wondering why I was in politics... those that have not had their identity and faith questioned cannot fully appreciate what it does to you."
Mark Spencer, who at the time was chief whip, identified himself as the person Ms Ghani was referring to, saying he did not want others in the whip's office to be "drawn into this matter".
He added that the accusations were "completely false and I consider them to be defamatory".
'Legal powers'
The Sherwood MP went on to say it was "disappointing" that at the time Ms Ghani had declined to refer the matter for a formal Conservative Party investigation.
Following the accusation, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked the Cabinet Office to conduct an inquiry to "establish the facts about what happened".
Since then, Ms Ghani has been brought back into government as a business minister, while Mr Spencer has moved from the whip's office to the environment department.
A year on from the inquiry being launched, the BBC has been told that Sir Laurie was taking it over.
EHRC chief executive Marcial Boo said he was in regular contact with the author of a 2021 report into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party.
When Ms Ghani made her allegations, the EHRC said it would "consider any findings" from the government's inquiry, adding: "If we are not satisfied with progress, we will not rule out the use of our legal powers."
The BBC has contacted Ms Ghani and Mr Spencer for a comment.
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