by David Rose, UnHerd
Sectarianism is affecting policymaking
On 28 March 2024, nine weeks before Britain’s general election, Sir Keir Starmer went to an iftar dinner at the end of the day’s Ramadan fast. It was held among the gilded columns of the Reform Club’s library, and its attendees also included David Lammy, who would shortly become Foreign Secretary, and Shabana Mahmood, now Secretary of State for Justice. Starmer and Mahmood both made speeches, and photos show them sharing a joke over their starters with the evening’s beaming host, a bald, middle-aged man in a charcoal suit.
His name is Muddassar Ahmed, and he has a worrying past: he used to be part of an organisation which ran campaigns to unseat Labour MPs in constituencies with big Muslim electorates. For a Labour leader to have dined with him would once have been unthinkable.
Nineteen years on, though, the host deemed his iftar such a success, that he gave both Lammy and Mahmood donations of £10,000. Perhaps with the help of such largesse, he and other Muslims with questionable backgrounds have enjoyed access to the highest levels of government. And some maintain links with Islamists who have extreme views.
Some of the policies they have championed represent longstanding radical demands: for the outlawing of criticism of Islam, for stronger support for Palestine, and for the downplaying of the ethnic element of the grooming gangs scandal. Over the course of a three-month investigation, I have charted the progress of some of these individuals and groups. The evidence suggests they are now a powerful influence on the Labour party and on the direction of the country.