The former homelessness minister Rushanara Ali – who resigned last week over an eviction controversy at one of her rental properties – had to limit her ministerial work after a problem in October 2024.
According to the Sunday Times, survivors of the Grenfell Tower tragedy had called for Ali to stand down after her attendance at an international conference for politicians, civil servants and business leaders. The conference was co-chaired by Pierre-André de Chalendar, who until recently served as chairman of Saint-Gobain – the parent company of one of the firms heavily criticised in the Grenfell inquiry.
As a result of that controversy, Ali relinquished the building safety part of her ministerial job because – as she put it at the time – “perception matters”.
The former head of Saint-Gobain was in charge of the company at the time of the Grenfell fire, when it was a majority shareholder of Celotex, one of the firm which manufactured the combustible insulation inside the cladding on Grenfell Tower.
At the time Ali said in a statement: “Trusted relationships between ministers and the Grenfell community are essential for this Department. Before I became a minister, I called for the French delegation of the Franco-British Colloque to cut ties with Saint Gobain. But I understand that perception matters and I have therefore concluded that the building safety portfolio would be best transferred to another minister.
“Our goals of making buildings safe and preventing another tragedy continue to be very important issues for me, and the deputy prime minister and the rest of the ministerial team have my full support in delivering on this work.”
Last week the I newspaper revealed that Ali had evicted four tenants from a London house. They had been paying £3,300 pcm prior to eviction; when the property was re-listed, the rent was increased to £4,000 pcm.
Following 24 hours of calls for her to go from homelessness charities, opposition politicians and some Labour supporters, she quit.
In a letter to the Prime Minister she said that remaining in the role would be “a distraction from the ambitious work of this government. It is with a heavy heart that I offer you my resignation as a Minister.”
She insists that “at all times I have followed all relevant legal requirements” and she adds: “I believe I took my responsibilities and duties seriously, and the facts demonstrate this. However, it is clear that continuing in my role will be a distraction from the ambitious work of the government.”
Meanwhile the ex-minister’s rental property is still on sale on Rightmove despite having its asking price slashed over last winter.
This article is taken from Landlord Today