Angela Rayner’s department accused of breaking ministerial code

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has been accused of potentially breaching the ministerial code and government data policy by deleting evidence used to create a new definition of Islamophobia.

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy raised the issue after a freedom of information request revealed that the department had deleted all submissions made to a working group tasked with drafting the non-statutory definition. The definition is intended for use by public, private, and charity sectors to identify and address anti-Muslim hostility.

Mr. Timothy argued that the deleted evidence was essential to understanding the drafting process and determining if extremist organizations influenced the definition. He noted that the ministry’s own records policy requires documents with potential historical value to be kept for at least 20 years, whereas the deleted submissions formed the basis of the definition the government is now adopting.