Nusrat Ghani spoke to The Sunday Times about his dismissal from his post as minister of state for aviation and maritime transport in February 2020.
Noting that at a meeting at the Prime Ministry, one of the party group leaders told him that “being a Muslim was brought up as an issue.”
“At the meeting with the party group leaders after the cabinet reshuffle, I asked what was the thought behind the decision to fire me and what was the mood when my name was mentioned in Number 10 (Prime Ministry) about the change. At the cabinet reshuffle meeting at the Prime Ministry, my Muslim woman status was brought up as an issue, and my position as a Muslim female minister disturbed my colleagues. I was told there were concerns that I was not loyal because I had not defended the party adequately against allegations of Islamophobia.“
Stating that she feels humiliated and powerless. Ghani claimed that she remained silent after being warned that if she continued to raise the issue, she would be “ostracized by her colleagues” and “her career and reputation would be destroyed.”
Noting that she has been considering whether she wants to continue to be a member of parliament since then, Ghani said, “I cannot say that this has not shaken my faith in the party.”
Ghani’s comments followed allegations that anti-Prime Minister Boris Johnson MPs were blackmailed by ministers and advisers.
William Wragg, who was among the first Conservative MPs to criticize Johnson because of the parties in the Prime Ministry where the Covid-19 restrictions were violated, said in a statement on January 20 that MPs were threatened with the withdrawal of state funds from their constituencies.
The Labor Chairperson of the House of Commons Standards Committee, Chris Bryant, said he spoke to “about a dozen” conservatives who said they were threatened by ruling party group leaders.
Nusrat Ghani was appointed minister in January 2018 while Theresa May was prime minister, and was out of the cabinet a few months after Johnson took power alone in the December 12, 2019 election.
