14 March 2011

Eric Pickles ceases ‘sponsorship’ of the Muslim Council of Britain and its associated bodies

.... These figures refer to spending under Labour. Please don’t ask about the £2,500 of taxpayers’ money for one table at the MCB’s leadership dinner: it must have been halal caviar.

The Department for Communities and Local Government was doubtless happy to answer Andrew Griffiths’ question in the new spirit of transparency. Under Eric Pickles, the DCLG does not meet with the MCB at all and the department has stopped the sponsorship of such awards/dinner events across the board. There is some legacy spend on MINAB in 2010-11, but that was unavoidable as it was one of Labour’s blank cheques (signed in April 2010!). [Archbishop Cranmer] Read more