Calls for association chair to step down over ‘vile’ tweets

Lord Austin’s social media comments were made after Israel had implied that Hamas was carrying out operations under UNRWA’s abandoned headquarters in Gaza. The aid agency, which supports Palestinian refugees, refuted any knowledge of this.

Following complaints about his use of language, Lord Austin posted on X: “People have complained about a tweet I issued at the weekend about Hamas’ operations centre being underneath UNRWA’s offices.

“It was not my intention to offend anyone and I have deleted it. As I have written and said many times – including in a national newspaper today – the vast majority of Muslims are just as appalled by racism and terrorism as everyone else.”

Despite this, his comments have been heavily criticised, with housing activist Kwajo Tweneboa describing them as “vile”.

Lara Oyedele, former president of the CIH, called for Lord Austin to step down from his position.

She told Inside Housing she was “shocked and very upset” when she saw the screenshot sent to her by a member of Midland Heart’s staff.

“If your staff are reaching out, in private via social media, asking how to complain about the chair of their housing association, then there is a serious problem internally. It is clear that Midland Heart have not undertaken the National Housing Federation’s Chairs’ Challenge,” she said.

The NHF Chairs’ Challenge is a public commitment from a housing association’s board to understand how diverse and inclusive it is, and then to develop a vision for the future.

Ms Oyedele added: “It is important that social housing organisations provide a safe environment for staff and residents. Our staff and residents are incredibly diverse.

“This is something the sector should indeed be proud of, support and promote. Lord Austin’s statements do the opposite of that. We have to show leadership.

“We have to show fairness and equity. We have to be kind and compassionate to all our communities. We have to lead by example. And in a housing association, this starts with the chair of the board.”

Ms Oyedele, who was the founding chair of BME National, the national representative body for Black and minority ethnic housing associations, ran a campaign during her time as CIH president called In my Shoes.

Its aim was to raise awareness of the importance of racial diversity in the housing sector, drawing on her own experiences.

In a statement on LinkedIn, Midland Heart said: “We’ve been contacted today regarding a post made by our chair earlier this week.

“He has since clarified the points made in this tweet and deleted the post. We understand the strength of feeling on this issue and like everyone are deeply saddened by the human tragedy unfolding in the Middle East.

“Our focus remains on ensuring our tenants continue to receive the best possible services and that we build as many affordable homes as possible in our region.

“As such, we as an organisation will not comment further on international political issues.”

Inside Housing asked the Birmingham-based landlord, which manages 34,000 homes across a number of diverse communities, how the comments fit with its social media and anti-racism policies. However, it declined to comment further.

Lord Austin resigned from the Labour Party in 2019 over what he said was a “culture of extremism, anti-Semitism and intolerance”. He became an independent MP, and Boris Johnson, the prime minister at the time, nominated Lord Austin for a life peerage in 2020.

Lord Austin joined Midland Heart as chair last year. He was contacted for an additional response.