Lord Lemos, Catholic by tradition, has been appointed Faith Minister, just one month after the last one, Nesil Caliskan MP, was given the job. She remains a minister in the Department of Housing Communities and Local Government, and a spokesman said they will work together on issues around social cohesion.
Lord Lemos is the tenth person to hold this role in ten years. He was appointed as a Lord in January 2025 and a minister in the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government on 12 June. Days later he got the Faith Minister job. In his CV, he has set up a housing association and publishing company and has held many public service roles including chair of English Heritage.
In the Lords on Wednesday 24 June, during a debate on the Edinburgh anti-Muslim attacks, Lord Lemos said: “I am on day eight of my post as Faith Minister”, and detailed that his first job in that role was to visit Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester, alongside Nesil Caliskan.
Lord Lemos was answering a question from Baroness Warsi on what the government intends to do to curb people, including foreign funders, who support groups and media outlets to spread anti-Muslim division. Lord Lemos said he took this seriously and asked for further information. In the session, he also said the government will appoint a special representative on anti-Muslim hostility and produce an annual report on extremism.
