Lord Austin steps down as chair of Midland Heart

The recent suspension by Midland Heart followed the backlash surrounding a tweet made by Lord Austin on X (formerly known as Twitter), which was subsequently deleted. However, a source close to Midland Heart told Social Housing last month that the suspension was made not only in response to this comment but also to a “pattern of tweets that have caused offence”.

Now the board of Midland Heart has announced that Lord Austin will step down as chair with immediate effect.

Bishop Llewellyn Graham, chief executive of Nehemiah Housing, will assume the role of chair while a permanent replacement is sought.

In a statement, Midland Heart highlighted that it has never accused Lord Austin of racism or Islamophobia and said “his long history of campaigning against all forms of racism” was one of the key reasons he had been appointed chair in the first place.

Bishop Graham said: “On behalf of myself and the rest of our board. I want to thank Lord Austin for his service and stewardship. We all wish Lord Austin the best for the future.

“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: “I welcome this statement. Midland Heart has important work to do in improving housing in the Midlands and I am standing down as chair so that they can concentrate on that.”