Sir Roger Scruton: No. 10 adviser sacked over race comments
Philosopher loses government role over ‘deeply offensive’ views on George Soros, Islam and the Chinese
The government’s housing tsar has been sacked after making a series of “offensive and unacceptable” comments branded racist and anti-Semitic.
Sir Roger Scruton gave his controversial views on George Soros, Chinese people and Islam during an interview with The New Statesman’s deputy editor, George Eaton.
Philosopher and writer Scruton had been chairing the Ministry of Housing’s Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, but was sacked by Secretary of State James Brokenshire hours after his comments were published on Wednesday.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In the interview, Scruton expressed sympathy for the Hungarian government’s harsh response to the 2015 refugee crisis, reports The Guardian, which notes that he “has been a friend of [right-wing Hungarian PM Viktor] Orban for more than 30 years”.
“Hungarians were extremely alarmed by the sudden invasion of huge tribes of Muslims,” Scruton said. He then claimed the concept of Islamophobia had been “invented by the Muslim Brotherhood in order to stop discussion of a major issue”.
Scruton also appeared to fuel conspiracy theories about the influence of Hungarian-born Jewish billionaire George Soros, saying: “Anybody who doesn’t think that there’s a Soros empire in Hungary has not observed the facts.”
Soros, who is a major contributor to progressive causes, is the subject of numerous anti-Semitic conspiracies among the far-right fringe, and has been a frequent target of Orban’s nationalist rhetoric.
In a wide-ranging interview, Scruton added that the Chinese were “creating robots out of their own people… each Chinese person is a kind of replica of the next one and that is a very frightening thing”.
Downing Street said Scruton’s comments were “deeply offensive and completely unacceptable” and that it was right that he had been dismissed.
“He was appointed because of his expertise in the built environment but his comments are clearly distracting from the work of the commission and it is no longer right for him to act as a government adviser,” a No. 10 spokeswoman said.
But Toby Young, who resigned from an advisory role at the Department for Education last year following a backlash over some of his Twitter posts, told talkRADIO’s Julia Hartley-Brewer that Scruton’s words had been “misrepresented”.
He added: “None of these opinions are relevant when it comes to accessing his credentials to do this particular job that he had been appointed to do.”
The New Statesman and Eaton have also come under criticism from some of Scruton’s defenders, with Douglas Murray in The Spectator calling it “journalistic dishonesty” - a charge Eaton denies.
It is not the first time Scruton has come under scrutiny. Last November it emerged he had said Islamophobia was a “propaganda word” and described homosexuality as “not normal”, leading to the Labour Party to call for his dismissal.
At the time, Brokenshire defended him as a “champion of freedom of speech”, saying: “He is one of the most qualified people in this particular field, so I am pleased that he has accepted that role. As a public intellectual of renown and author of over 50 books, as well as countless articles and public lectures, Sir Roger is engaged in a variety of topics, often expressing - yes - strong and controversial views.”
Labour’s Andrew Gwynne, the shadow communities secretary, said Brokenshire “should apologise for defending Mr Scruton as a ‘champion’ of free speech and for saying our criticism of him was ‘misinformed’ and ‘ill-judged’”.
He added: “Brokenshire also said ‘due diligence’ had been conducted on Scruton’s appointment, so he must explain what this entailed, what processes he followed and how he reached his decision. The Government should also strip him of his knighthood.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'A new era of hurricanes'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
How Britain's demographic is changing
A 50-year record population increase was fuelled by greater migration
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
The story of Japanese jeweller Tasaki
The Blend A revival in the use of pearls in fashion and jewellery design places heritage brand Tasaki centre stage
By Felix Bischof Published
-
Why Trump says immigrants are eating pets in Springfield
Speed Read The political and social origins of an unsubstantiated, racist rumor
By David Faris Published
-
NC candidate said he was 'Black Nazi' on porn site
Speed Read North Carolina GOP governor nominee Mark Robinson made a series of disturbing comments on a message board
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'We simply haven't built enough new housing'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Will Kamala Harris give YIMBYs a voice in the White House?
Today's Big Question And can federal officials do anything about local housing rules?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'At stake are judicial independence and the rule of law'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published