Rushanara Ali has resigned as Homelessness Minister after reports emerged she issued her tenants a notice to leave before hiking the price by £700 as her east London property was being sold.
The MP for Bethnal Green and Stepney said she took the decision with a "heavy heart."
In an open letter to the Prime Minister, she said that remaining in the role would be "a distraction from the ambitious work of this Government."
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The MP for Bethnal Green and Stepney has resigned
|FLICKR (HOUSE OF COMMONS)
She told the Prime Minister in a letter: "It has been the honour of my life to have played my part in first securing and then serving as part of this Labour Government. You have my continued commitment, loyalty and support."
The i Paper reports that four tenants who rented a house in east London from Ali were sent an email last November saying their lease would not be renewed, which also gave them four months’ notice to leave.
Ali’s property, near the London Stadium in Stratford, was then re-listed with a £700 rent increase within weeks.
The house, rented on a fixed-term contract, was put up for sale while the tenants were living there, and it was only re-listed as a rental because it had not sold.
Ali’s former tenant, Laura Jackson, said she was one of four tenants who received an email giving four months' notice to leave the property, for which they collectively paid £3,300 in rent. She said: "It’s an absolute joke. Trying to get that much money from renters is extortion."
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Rushanara Ali's resignation letter
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Labour's Rushanara Ali has resigned from her Government role
| PAIn response, the Prime Minister thanked Ali for her "diligent work" at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, saying it would have "a lasting impact".
Sir Keir Starmer said: "I know you will continue to support the Government from the backbenches and represent the best interests of your constituents in Bethnal Green and Stepney."
Reacting to the news, Reform's head of DogeUK, Zia Yusuf, said: "The Minister for Homelessness has resigned after being found literally making people homeless. Only in Britain."
Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly said: "I said that her actions were total hypocrisy and that she should go if the accusations were shown to be true. Labour’s position is always 'do as I say, not do as I do!'
"They can’t get away with that when in Government."
A Liberal Democrat spokesman said: "Rushanara Ali fundamentally misunderstood her role. Her job was to tackle homelessness, not to increase it.
"At a time of widespread political disillusionment, her actions were staggeringly irresponsible and only added insult to injury after years of delay for renters’ rights reform under the Conservatives.
"The Prime Minister must appoint a new homelessness minister swiftly who will take the need to end homelessness once and for all seriously."