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Lord Ian Austin steps down as chair of Midland Heart
The board of Midland Heart has announced that chair Lord Ian Austin has stepped down with immediate effect.
The Birmingham-based social landlord has replaced Lord Austin with the boss of Nehemiah Housing, Bishop Llewellyn Graham, while a permanent replacement is found.
Lord Austin, a former housing minister, was suspended following a post on social media in which he described “Islamist rapists and murderers” following heavy criticism and calls for his resignation.
Lord Austin later said the comments referred to the terrorist group Hamas.
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In a post on X, the landlord explained that it had never accused Lord Austin of racism or Islamophobia.
Midland Heart added: “His long history of campaigning against all forms of racism is one of the key reasons he was appointed as our chair in the first place.”
Lord Austin’s 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.”
But there was significant criticism of the post, described as “vile” by housing activist Kwajo Tweneboa, while former Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) president Lara Oyedele called for Lord Austin’s resignation. Staff have also said they were “sickened” by the situation.
Midland Heart, which did not immediately take action, responded initially by saying that Lord Austin “has since clarified the points made in this tweet and deleted the post”.
However, Glenn Harris, chief executive at Midland Heart, subsequently sent an email to staff that read: “Given the impact this has had on the reputation of our organisation and the upset it has caused, especially to our colleagues, the board unanimously feel this is the only course of action.”
Bishop Graham, chair of Midland Heart, thanked Lord Austin for his service on behalf of himself and the rest of the landlord’s board, and wished him the best for the future.
He added: “Now that this issue is concluded, myself, our board, and our executive team look forward to returning to what matters most to our organisation, our tenants and the places they call home.”
Lord Austin said he welcomed the statement and is standing down so that Midland Heart can concentrate on its “important work to do in improving housing”.
The landlord added: “Neither Midland Heart nor Lord Austin will comment further on this matter.”
