Theresa May is facing pressure to sack her housing tsar Sir Roger Scruton today amid accusations of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
Labour MPs are demanding the philosopher be dropped from his new role heading a commission on building ‘beautiful homes’.
The calls came after remarks by Sir Roger were highlighted in which he took aim at billionaire George Soros, describing Jews in Budapest as part of the ‘Soros empire’.
In other comments, he said states dominated by Islam were often ‘failures as nations’, and suggested homophobia is ‘not normal’.
In a statement on his website, Sir Roger said he had been ‘offended and hurt’ by suggestions he is ‘anti-Semitic or in any way ‘Islamophobic”.
Ministers are facing pressure to drop Sir Roger Scruton (pictured) from a new quango advising on ‘beautiful’ housing
Labour MPs demanded Theresa May and James Brokenshire reconsider the appointment
But Labour MP David Lammy said: ‘Roger Scruton reckons Islamophobia and homophobia are ‘invented’ and conservatives suffer from the ‘only ‘phobia’ permitted’.
‘Excuse me while I fetch my tiny violin. Why have the Tories appointed him an adviser months after they promised to ‘stamp out’ Islamophobia?’
Fellow Labour backbencher Luciana Berger tweeted that the comments highlighted by the Red Roar website meant Sir Roger had ‘not place advising the government’.
‘An individual who peddles antisemitic conspiracy theories has no place advising government about anything,’ she said. ‘@theresa_may please intervene/ @JBrokenshire should urgently reconsider his appointment.’
Sir Roger was appointed to chair the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission earlier this week, with Communities Secretary James Brokenshire saying it would ‘kick-start a debate about the importance of design and style’.
The Ministry of Housing said the quango would ‘develop a vision and practical measures to help ensure new developments meet the needs and expectations of communities, making them more likely to be welcomed rather than resisted’.
Sir Roger is a ‘conservative thinker who specialises in aesthetics with particular attention to music and architecture’.
The 74-year-old has written more than 40 books, including 1980’s The Aesthetics Of Architecture.
He was knighted in 2016 for his services to philosophy, teaching and public education.
In the statement on his website, Sir Roger said ‘nothing could be further from the truth’ than the claims of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
‘If people actually read my comments regarding the interplay between George Soros and Hungary they will realise they are not in any way anti-Semitic, indeed quite the opposite,’ he said.
Mrs May, pictured at a First World War commemoration yesterday, and Mr Brokenshire are under pressure to rethink the appointment
‘Only two years ago I supported George Soros by making representations to Prime Minister Orban’s regime to keep open the Central European University so that intellectual freedom could continue to flourish in Hungary.
‘My statements on Islamic states points only to the failure of these states, which is a fact. My views on Islam are well known and can be found in my book The West And The Rest.’
A spokesman for the Ministry of House said: ‘Professor Sir Roger Scruton, as a long-standing public intellectual, has strong views on a number of issues.
‘He received a knighthood in 2016 and advised the Coalition government on design.
‘His commitment to driving quality in the built environment is well known and he has published extensively on architecture and place, which makes him an excellent candidate for the unpaid chairmanship of the Building Better, Building Beautiful commission.’