Exclusive: British Muslim Network backed by charity set up by former archbishop Welby
A new national body appearing to challenge the leadership credentials of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has lost many of its earlier supporters and is being backed by a charity set up by disgraced former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Middle East Eye can reveal.
The new body, the British Muslim Network (BMN), is set to hold its launch event on 25 February but faces an escalating crisis as increasing numbers of Muslim MPs refuse to attend, MEE understands.
Last July, MEE first reported on plans to create a new Labour-supported Muslim group designed to engage with the government.
Since then, MEE understands that the initiative has lost most of its backing, including hundreds of thousands of pounds in funding.
Several Muslim MPs have privately said they will not accept invitations to attend the upcoming launch event.
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BMN co-founder Akeela Ahmed said in late January that the network was “only speaking to potential funders within the British Muslim community”.
But three anonymous Labour insiders with knowledge of the matter told MEE that the BMN is receiving a large part of its support from the Together Coalition.
The coalition is a charity co-founded by Welby and Brendan Cox, the husband of the Labour MP Jo Cox who was murdered by a far-right-inspired gunman in 2016.
According to its website, the Together Coalition’s steering group, which oversees its direction, is chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury, a title held until recently by Welby.
Welby resigned as archbishop late last year after a report found that the Church of England covered up sexual abuse by a barrister who attacked as many as 130 boys and young men.
Welby’s successor as archbishop has not yet been appointed.
Prominent members of the Together Coalition’s steering group include Matthew Elliot, who was the chief executive of the Vote Leave campaign that advocated for Brexit in 2016, and Lord Richard Dannatt, a former head of the British army.
Women’s equality activist Julie Siddiqi, another member of the steering group, is understood to be heavily involved in the BMN.
'No credibility '
Labour insiders told MEE that Cox, who is the Together Coalition’s head of strategy and is understood to be close to the Labour leadership, is a key figure behind the new network.
MEE also understands that Cox is concerned that figures like Siddiqi who are behind the BMN lack credibility within the Muslim community.
'The BMN has not gone in the way that they expected and instead of bringing people together, it is creating further division'
- Labour source
"Brendan is aware that figures who are rumoured to be involved with the BMN, like Julie Siddiqi or Imam Asim Hafez, have no credibility within the community,” said a source who is in regular contact with grassroots Muslim groups.
"The BMN has not gone in the way that they expected and instead of bringing people together, it is creating further division."
Cox, who is not a Muslim, has previously praised the controversial Prevent programme and warned that “You don’t need to import the conflict from Israel-Palestine into the UK”.
In 2018, Cox confessed to inappropriate behaviour and resigned from two charities after multiple allegations of sexual assault surfaced. He strongly denied the accusations.
MEE understands that a number of people involved in the project to create a new Muslim organisation held a meeting last May which was organised by the Together Coalition at Cumberland Lodge, a 17th-century country house in Windsor.
The BMN has presented itself as seeking to allow the government to engage with British Muslim communities, which is what the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), founded in the late 1990s, aims to do.
An invitation to the BMN’s launch event, seen by MEE, said the network had been created as a result of “the joining of many heads and hearts over the past few months and is linked to conversations that have been taking place in British Muslim communities for many years.”
The proposal document MEE reported on last July said that the government and policy makers “are not easily able to access, connect or seek credible and expert advice from diverse British Muslim communities”, creating a “dire need for a credible group”.
But consecutive governments have followed a policy of refusing to engage with Britain’s largest umbrella body claiming to represent British Muslims, the Muslim Council of Britain.
The MCB has over 500 member organisations, including mosques, schools, local and county councils, professional networks and advocacy groups.
In August, MEE revealed that the Labour government even ignored communications from the MCB during the far-right riots that raged across the country for over a week.
Another Labour insider, speaking on condition of anonymity, told MEE there was outrage over “repeated attempts to divide the Muslim community into so-called good Muslims that will be allowed to engage with the government, and so-called bad Muslims that will be boycotted.
“It is as dangerous as it is racist,” the source added. “The involvement of non-Muslim individuals and organisations in driving these divisive projects particularly reeks of Islamophobia.”
A spokesperson for the Together Coalition told MEE: “As part of our work to address threats to community cohesion, we work with a wide variety of civil society groups to help ensure voices and communities that are marginalised get the support they deserve.”
Access and representation
MEE understands that Cox has played a central role in shaping Labour’s broader faith engagement strategy, with the party relying heavily on the Together Coalition for community outreach.
According to a Labour Party source, Cox has emerged as a key figure in these efforts.
His influence is reportedly tied to his connections within the party and his broader interfaith work, particularly through relationships with figures like the former archbishop.
'You don’t need to import the conflict from Israel-Palestine into the UK'
- Brendan Cox
Cox’s involvement has facilitated structured engagement with faith communities, but sources suggest that these efforts are often not representative.
And Cox has previously taken controversial positions on contentious political issues such as the Gaza war.
In December 2023, the Together Coalition held a mass vigil aiming to “bridge divisions” by bringing people who lost family in Gaza together with those who lost family in Israel.
“The vast majority of the debate is dominated by the loudest, most extreme voices,” Cox said in an interview before the vigil.
“What we’re being told time and time again is you have to take a side, there’s only one side and the other side is evil. And in those moments, I guess my concern about it is you whip up this anger, you whip up this hatred.”
He added: “You don’t need to import the conflict from Israel-Palestine into the UK.”
Cox has also advocated “increasing public support” for the controversial Prevent anti-extremism programme, advocating for its reform but defending it against criticisms made in 2023 by government-appointed reviewer William Shawcross, who accused Prevent of insufficiently targeting Islamist extremism.
Cox also disputed the “perception of Prevent as biased against Muslim communities”, saying that the policy’s mistakes in its early stages had been “exploited by groups who wanted to undermine Prevent for ideological reasons”.
The Times reported in late January that prominent supporters of the new network included Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, a former Conservative minister and member of the House of Lords.
The report came just days after Warsi was one of the main speakers at the Muslim Council of Britain's annual dinner, where she criticised successive governments for not engaging with the organisation.
"How dare they? How dare we be told who we can have to speak on our behalf? How dare we not be allowed the agency of our own representation?" Warsi said in her speech.
"How dare we be told that we are going to be accountable for what somebody may have said two decades ago? How dare we be held accountable for every single word of every single person who's ever been involved in an institution?"
MEE contacted Warsi for comment but did not receive a response by time of publication.
A spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain said the organisation "welcomes all genuine efforts to serve British Muslim communities. With over 500 affiliated organisations and regular democratic elections, we remain focused on uniting, empowering, and serving our communities through impactful grassroots work and constructive dialogue with all partners.
"As part of this commitment, our Vision 2050 sets out a long-term roadmap for a confident, successful, and engaged British Muslim community."
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