MP Nusrat Ghani dismissal sparks controversy

The Conservative MP Nusrat Ghani was unexpectedly sacked, but the reason for her dismissal is not due to political reasons but instead her religion.

Tory MP Ghani claims that her belief made her fellow colleagues uncomfortable, which led her to dismissal. She said in a statement ‘’I was sacked as a minister because I was a Muslim’’. Claims like these open questions about parliament and their treatment regarding people of ethnic minorities.

In February 2020, Nusrat Ghani, 49, was replaced as a transport minister by Kelly Tolhurst in a reshuffle. When asked further about her opinion on the matter she claimed that ‘’her ‘’Muslimness was raised as an issue’’, and that ‘’it was like being punched in the stomach. I felt humiliated and powerless.’’

Leader of House of Commons Mark Spencer also tweeted about the situation on January 22 earlier in the year. He stated in a tweet ‘’I provided evidence to the Singh investigation into Islamophobias which concluded that there was no credible basis for the claims’’.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has since opened an investigation and says he is taking the situation ‘extremely seriously’ and is glad the investigation has opened again since the issue was raised with him 18 months ago.

Words by Vanessa Bandoh