Inter Faith Network headed for closure as Gove ‘minded to withdraw’ funding

Michael Gove told the Inter Faith Network that ‘successive governments have had a longstanding policy of non-engagement’ with the Muslim Council of Britain. Photograph: Thomas Krych/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock

A charity that has worked for 37 years for greater cohesion between different UK faith communities is expected to close down next week after the government signalled it would scrap its funding.

The Inter Faith Network (IFN) is due to close after Michael Gove, the communities secretary, said he was “minded to withdraw” £155,000 of provisional funding over concerns about a trustee connected to the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB).