UK government's freedom of religion envoy resigns over Internal Market Bill

Rehman Chishti (centre) and his new ACN t-shirt with John Pontifex (l) and Neville Kyrke-Smith (r)

Source: Rehman Chishti MP, ACN

Boris Johnson's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, has resigned over concerns about the Internal Market Bill.

Rehman Chishti, MP for Gillingham and Rainham, stated in a letter on Monday, that he was not able to support the Bill on a matter of principle and that he has real concerns with the UK unilaterally breaking its legal commitments under the Withdrawal Agreement.

In his letter, published on his website and social media, Chisti said: "Having read your letter to colleagues, as well as wider statements on the matter, I will not be able to support this Bill on a matter of principle. I have real concerns with the UK unilaterally breaking its legal commitments under the Withdrawal Agreement.

"During my 10 years in Parliament and before that as a Barrister, I have always acted in a manner which respects the rule of law. I feel strongly about keeping the commitments we make; if we give our world, then we must honour it. Voting for this Bill as it currently stands would be contrary to the values, I hold dearest.

"Given our different views on the Internal Market Bill, I regret that I must step down from my role as your Special Envoy for Freedom of Religious or Belief (FoRB). It has been a real honour and pleasure to serve our country by carrying our this trip Foreign Policy priority over the last year. I have enjoyed immensely the International Religious Freedom Alliance, a 31 member state organisations, which appointed me as their co-Vice Chair in August. Among other things, the Alliance has had real success in getting governments around the world to release prisoners of conscience during COVID-19."

Chisti took up the post of Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief in September 2019. Prior to that appointment he had frequently raised questions in House of Commons debates about the problems religious minorities face, particularly focusing on the case of Asia Bibi who faced the death sentence in Pakistan for blasphemy against Islam.

Chishti cited the Government's response to Asia Bibi's case, and its seeming reluctance to grant her asylum in the UK, as one of the reasons he resigned as Vice-Chair of the Conservative party.

Neville Kyrke-Smith, National Director, Aid to the Church in Need (UK), said: "We really appreciate what Rehman has done to push FoRB, making it a higher priority and developing it as a vital issue within government. We have held important meetings with Rehman; he has given addresses for ACN on #RedWednesday and in particular he provided significant help over the Asia Bibi case. We hope his role will be taken up by another powerful advocate for religions freedom and tolerance."

Read Rehman Chishti's full letter here: www.rehmanchishti.com/sites/www.rehmanchishti.com/files/2020-09/Letter%20of%20resignation%2014.09.20.pdf