Home Secretary Sajid Javid was locked in a furious row with Downing Street yesterday after accusing officials of snubbing his plea to attend a state banquet for Donald Trump.
The Tory leadership hopeful hit out after he was barred from last week’s glittering white-tie bash at Buckingham Palace to honour the US President.
Mr Javid said he has still not received a proper explanation as to why he was the only senior Cabinet minister not to be invited.
“I don’t know. I have asked. I was just told that normally home secretaries aren’t invited. So I don’t know,” he told the BBC.
“I don’t like it, it is odd.
“My office did ask No10 and they said ‘no’. You’d have to ask someone from No10 why they made that decision.”
Asked if he thought his exclusion was due to his Muslim background, Mr Javid said: “I am not saying that at all. I really don’t know.”
No10 said Home Secretaries were not routinely invited to such occasions – and Theresa May was not asked to attend a state banquet for Barack Obama in 2011.
But eight Cabinet ministers were at last week’s bash, including Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt.
The PM, Chancellor and Foreign Secretary .
Labour former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith tweeted: “V odd. I went to every state banquet for visiting leaders as Home Secretary.”
Former Conservative Party chairwoman Baroness Sayeeda Warsi said “we know why” Mr Javid was not invited.
She added: “Worrying if foreign countries start telling us who is and isn’t acceptable based on origins and background - @10DowningStreet must clarify why @sajidjavid wasn’t invited.”
A Downing Street source said talks with the White House in the run-up to the dinner were “categorically not a factor” in the snub.
Mrs May’s spokesman said it was “categorically untrue” to suggest Mr Javid’s heritage played a part, adding: “The PM is proud to have appointed Sajid Javid as the country’s first Muslim Home Secretary.”
Downing Street said there was only a “limited number” of places available for ministers at the state banquet.
“This was a state banquet hosted by Her Majesty the Queen so I don’t think it is appropriate to discuss in public who did or did not ask to attend,” the spokesman said.
“As with any state banquet only a limited number of places are available to the Government.
“A large number of ministers who expressed a wish to attend were not able to do so.”
Mr Javid has previously criticised Mr Trump .
He blasted the President for endorsing the views of “a vile, hate-filled racist organisation that hates me and people like me”.
Royal records indicate Home Secretaries are not always invited to state banquets.
While Amber Rudd was asked to the dinner held for the King and Queen of Spain in July 2017, Mrs May was not invited to those staged during the visits of the Chinese and Mexican presidents in 2015.
