Sajid Javid is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2019 to 2020.
141 Facts About Sajid Javid
2.
Sajid Javid studied Economics and Politics at the University of Exeter, where he joined the Conservative Party.
3.
Sajid Javid was elected to the House of Commons in May 2010.
4.
Sajid Javid was a prominent supporter of the unsuccessful Britain Stronger in Europe campaign for the UK to remain in the European Union.
5.
Sajid Javid resigned as Chancellor during the February 2020 cabinet reshuffle after refusing a demand from Johnson and his chief adviser Dominic Cummings that he dismiss his advisers, and was succeeded by Rishi Sunak.
6.
In December 2022, Sajid Javid said that he would not stand for re-election at the next general election, due to be held in autumn 2024.
7.
Sajid Javid was born on 5 December 1969 in Rochdale, Lancashire, one of five sons of Pakistani Punjabi immigrant parents.
8.
Sajid Javid's family were farmers from the village of Rajana near Toba Tek Singh, Punjab, from where they migrated to the UK in the 1960s.
9.
Sajid Javid's mother did not speak English until she had been in the UK for ten years.
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Sajid Javid's family moved from Lancashire to Stapleton Road, Bristol, as his parents took over a shop there, and the family lived in a two-bedroom flat above it.
11.
Sajid Javid is able to hold a conversation in broken Punjabi.
12.
From 1981 to 1986, Sajid Javid attended Downend School, a state comprehensive near Bristol.
13.
Sajid Javid has said he was told that he could not study maths at O Level so he had to get his father to pay for it.
14.
Sajid Javid was a trustee of the London Early Years Foundation, a governor of Normand Croft Community School, and has led an expedition to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the highest mountain in Africa, to show his support of Help the Aged.
15.
In 1990, aged 20, Sajid Javid attended the annual Conservative Party Conference for the first time and campaigned against the Thatcher government's decision that year to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.
16.
Sajid Javid was handing out leaflets against the policy when he first met TV presenter Jeremy Paxman.
17.
Sajid Javid has since said that Paxman first interviewed him at that same conference.
18.
In 1998, Sajid Javid was selected as prospective Parliamentary candidate for Brent North.
19.
Sajid Javid worked as an adviser to Conservative MP Gary Streeter, the then Shadow Secretary of State for International Development.
20.
Sajid Javid had an 18-year City career, during which he rose to become a board member of Deutsche Bank International.
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Sajid Javid joined Chase Manhattan Bank in New York City immediately after graduation, working mostly in Latin America and selling Mexican government bonds prior to the Mexican peso crisis.
22.
Sajid Javid returned to London in 1997, and later joined Deutsche Bank as a director in 2000.
23.
Sajid Javid left Deutsche Bank in 2009 to pursue a career in politics.
24.
Sajid Javid applied for and held non-domicile status for six years during his banking career which allowed him to avoid paying tax in the UK on his overseas earnings.
25.
Sajid Javid's resignation was confirmed in December 2009, after she attempted to withdraw it.
26.
On 6 May 2010, Sajid Javid received 22,558 votes, winning the seat by a majority of 11,308 votes.
27.
Sajid Javid was one of six new MPs profiled by the Financial Times, and was named as the Newcomer of 2010 by the ConservativeHome blog.
28.
In January 2015, Sajid Javid was awarded the Politician of the Year award at the British Muslim Awards.
29.
In November 2017, Sajid Javid won Patchwork Foundation's MP of the Year Award.
30.
In June 2018, a polling of Tory activists on ConservativeHome showed Sajid Javid was popular as a potential party leader.
31.
Previously, as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid wrote to all local council leaders to ask them to adopt the IHRA's definition of anti-Semitism.
32.
In 2015, addressing the Holocaust Educational Trust's annual dinner, the then Business Secretary Sajid Javid condemned "dinner party anti-Semites" and said, "I can't remember the last time I spoke to a Jewish friend or colleague who hasn't, at some point, found themselves sitting awkwardly at a dinner party while a fellow guest railed against the international 'kosher conspiracy'".
33.
In 2018, Sajid Javid suggested Jeremy Corbyn should quit as Labour leader following his decision to attend a 2014 wreath-laying at a cemetery which contained the graves of many Palestinian activists; including Salah Khalaf and Atef Bseiso, members of the Black September Organization.
34.
In March 2018, Sajid Javid called Momentum "neo-fascist" in the House of Commons chamber.
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MPs including Jon Trickett, Chris Williamson, Alex Sobel, Clive Lewis and Caroline Lucas demanded Sajid Javid withdraw the statement and apologise.
36.
In July 2018, Sajid Javid back-tracked after Jeremy Corbyn had threatened legal action for linking Corbyn with Holocaust denial.
37.
Sajid Javid rejected a request by the Muslim Council of Britain for an independent inquiry into allegations of Islamophobia within the Conservative Party.
38.
Sajid Javid said: "The Muslim Council of Britain does not represent Muslims in this country" and added "we don't deal with the MCB".
39.
Sajid Javid held several senior executive positions in investment banking, including a role with responsibility for sale of CDOs, and during his time Deutsche Bank had operated a tax avoidance scheme known as "dark blue" that channelled bankers' bonus payments through the Cayman Islands.
40.
In May 2019, Sajid Javid launched his bid to become Conservative leader with pledge to deliver Brexit and to "bridge divides" by promoting the shared values which unite Britain.
41.
Sajid Javid's campaign was advised by Matthew Elliott, former chief executive of Vote Leave.
42.
Sajid Javid indicated he would be prepared to take Britain out of the EU without a deal, and called for no-deal preparations to be stepped up.
43.
Sajid Javid set out his Brexit strategy in a piece for the Daily Mail, declaring "no, no, no" to the idea of allowing either another Brexit referendum, an early general election or revoking of Article 50.
44.
Sajid Javid proposed covering costs for implementing any new technology at the Irish border in a bid to try and break the deadlock over the Northern Ireland backstop.
45.
Sajid Javid said he was prepared to scrap the 45p rate of income tax entirely in a bid to inject more "dynamism" into the economy, pointing to the fact that tax revenues increased after the decision to cut the 50p rate of income tax to 45p and his role in making the case for it when he worked in the Treasury.
46.
Sajid Javid was eliminated from the contest after achieving fewer votes than his three remaining competitors in the fourth round of voting.
47.
On 10 July 2022, Sajid Javid announced his candidacy to replace Johnson in the July 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, but withdrew prior to the first ballot.
48.
Sajid Javid was briefly a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee from June to November 2010, before relinquishing this position when he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to John Hayes, then Minister of State for Further Education at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
49.
Sajid Javid was one of the first MPs to become a PPS from the 2010 intake.
50.
On 14 October 2011, as part of a small reshuffle prompted by the resignation of Liam Fox as Defence Secretary, Sajid Javid was promoted to become PPS to then Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne.
51.
In September 2012, Sajid Javid joined Osborne's Ministerial team as Economic Secretary to the Treasury.
52.
Sajid Javid was later promoted to Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 7 October 2013, replacing Greg Clark.
53.
Sajid Javid proposed to scrap rebate taxes for overseas investors in a bid to boost the competitiveness of asset management in the UK.
54.
In 2013, Sajid Javid was influential in getting the beer duty escalator abolished and cutting beer duty for the first time in over a half-century.
55.
Sajid Javid defended media freedom and the right of the press to investigate wrongdoing by politicians and officials in his first appearance as Culture Secretary on BBC's Question Time programme.
56.
In 2015, at a Board of Deputies of British Jews hustings event, Sajid Javid stated that publicly funded cultural institutions that boycott Israel risk having their government grants cut.
57.
Sajid Javid was at this time described as "the most robust right-winger in the cabinet", and a "true Thatcherite".
58.
Sajid Javid believed the UK ought to remain in the European Union.
59.
In February 2017, it was revealed in court that Sajid Javid had ignored the advice of a senior civil servant in order to continue to grant export licences for weapons to Saudi Arabia, despite allegations of war crimes in the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.
60.
In July 2016, Sajid Javid was appointed Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government by Prime Minister Theresa May In the role, he focused on increasing housing supply, including delivering a new generation of affordable and council housing.
61.
Sajid Javid had previously described council homes as "poor housing for the poor", but helped secure funds for new local council building in the 2017 budget.
62.
In 2017, Sajid Javid threatened to cancel Europe's largest Palestine convention, Palestine Expo.
63.
Sajid Javid's intervention came amid claims by various Jewish and pro-Israel groups that the organisers had previously praised Hamas.
64.
In 2017, a judge ruled that Sajid Javid acted unlawfully in issuing guidance to restrict local councils from pursuing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel through their pension schemes.
65.
In September 2017, Sajid Javid championed innovation collaborative efforts between the UK and Commonwealth Nations by awarding the first Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship in Innovation to Joshua Cheong and Dr Khoo Hsien Hui respectively.
66.
On 30 April 2018, Sajid Javid was appointed as Home Secretary after Amber Rudd resigned for misleading MPs about "targets for removing illegal immigrants", a consequence of the ongoing Windrush scandal.
67.
Sajid Javid began his role saying that he was determined to fix the injustices of the Windrush scandal, and launched a consultation.
68.
Sajid Javid offered an olive branch to the Police Federation, secured a review on medicinal cannabis oil, and won an increase in tier 2 visas for skilled workers.
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Javid won plaudits from Lord Tebbit, who suggested "Sajid Javid has seized control of his notoriously bloody minded department".
70.
In June 2018, Sajid Javid lifted the cap on immigration for NHS doctors and nurses and proposed adjustments to the "hostile environment" policy on immigration.
71.
Sajid Javid has said that EU citizens who have lived in the UK for at least five years would be eligible for a new "settled status" in the country post-Brexit.
72.
Child chess prodigy Shreyas Royal was allowed to stay in the UK after Sajid Javid personally intervened in the case under "exceptional talent" rules; it is very rare for the talent of a child to be a consideration in an immigration case.
73.
Sajid Javid unveiled plans at Cabinet for a crackdown on the number of low-skilled migrants coming to the UK after Britain leaves the EU, despite objections from Hammond and Greg Clark, the Business Secretary.
74.
In January 2019, Sajid Javid suggested denying asylum to asylum-seekers coming across the English Channel, questioning whether they were "genuine" and vowing to "do everything we [the UK] can to make sure that you are often not successful".
75.
On 19 February, Sajid Javid revoked the British citizenship of Shamima Begum, a British 19-year-old who left to join ISIS in 2015, when she was 16.
76.
Sajid Javid said that she had Bangladeshi citizenship, the country of her mother which she had never lived in, but both the Bangladesh state authorities and Begum denied this.
77.
Sajid Javid's decision was opposed by Church of England bishops and Sajid Javid's political opponent, Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, who said that the move was a breach of Begum's human rights.
78.
Sajid Javid was widely criticised for his actions, and held directly culpable for the death of the boy, Jarrah, by a number of commentators, including British human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith.
79.
In 2018, his first speech to the Police Federation, Sajid Javid said, "I'm listening and I get it".
80.
Sajid Javid then promised a shift in priorities in a bid to better protect police officers in the next Home Office spending review.
81.
The decision won praise, with Trevor Phillips suggesting "in his assault on liberal guilt over race, Sajid Javid is putting his Labour opponents to shame" and Camilla Cavendish commented that the "home secretary's heritage gives him a powerful voice against groomers".
82.
Sajid Javid vowed to use counter-terrorism powers to strip dual citizens involved in child-grooming gangs and other serious crimes of their British citizenship.
83.
Sajid Javid launched an investigation into the Home Office's handling of forced marriage cases after The Times revealed that abusers are being handed visas.
84.
Sajid Javid rejected a cross-party demand to introduce exclusion zones around all abortion centres in England and Wales, saying it would not be a "proportionate response".
85.
In 2018, Sajid Javid showed concern for the growing child abuse online making the use of technology insecure for children.
86.
Sajid Javid used an exceptional power as home secretary to issue a licence for a child with acute epilepsy to be treated with medical cannabis oil as a matter of urgency.
87.
Sajid Javid launched a new panel to consider applications from patients seeking to use cannabis oil and announced a review of medicinal cannabis.
88.
Sajid Javid, writing in The Times, stated that prescribing medicinal cannabis was not a step towards legalisation for recreational use.
89.
In February 2019, Sajid Javid laid an order in Parliament adding Hezbollah's political wing to the UK's list of proscribed terror organisations.
90.
In 2018, Sajid Javid was a keynote speaker at the Conservative Friends of Israel Conference and stated he intends to strengthen the partnership between UK and Israel, "especially in security".
91.
In 2019, Sajid Javid announced the government would increase funding for the security of synagogues, schools and other Jewish centres.
92.
Sajid Javid vowed to tackle anti-LGBT hate crime and set up a new LGBT Advisory Panel to deliver the Government's action plan.
93.
On 24 July 2019, Sajid Javid was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in the new Boris Johnson cabinet.
94.
In September 2019, Sajid Javid stood by Johnson's statement to suspend parliament and leave the EU.
95.
On 26 January 2020, a 50p coin to mark Brexit was unveiled by Sajid Javid, bearing the inscription 'Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations' and the new leaving date of 31 January.
96.
Sajid Javid helped raise thousands of pounds at the Jewish Care business breakfast by auctioning a Brexit 50p coin, co-signed by himself and Boris Johnson.
97.
Sajid Javid intervened to ensure Andrew Bailey was appointed as Governor of the Bank of England.
98.
In November 2019, following questions of a rift between Johnson and Sajid Javid, Johnson gave his assurance that he would retain Sajid Javid as Chancellor following the 2019 general election.
99.
On 13 February 2020, the day of the reshuffle, Sajid Javid resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer, following a meeting with the prime minister.
100.
Sajid Javid became the first Chancellor in 50 years not to deliver a budget.
101.
Sajid Javid returned to being a backbench MP after resigning as Chancellor.
102.
Sajid Javid joined on the bank's Europe, Middle East and Africa advisory council.
103.
Sajid Javid's appointment was criticised by Labour MP Zarah Sultana as "undermining democracy" and she advocated the banning of MPs from taking second jobs.
104.
Sajid Javid replaced Matt Hancock as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on 26 June 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, following Hancock's resignation.
105.
Sajid Javid took over the prominent role in the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic as the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant was driving a third wave in cases across the country.
106.
Sajid Javid said the country could have as many as "100,000 daily cases", while pushing for relaxation of social distancing and self-isolation rules, and saying "there is no going back".
107.
In early September 2021, although the JCVI "failed to recommend COVID-19 vaccines for healthy 12- to 15-year-olds, and instead advised that more children with underlying health conditions and vulnerable relatives should be offered the jab", Sajid Javid announced a plan to make vaccines available for the age group.
108.
Sajid Javid announced plans to make COVID-19 vaccines compulsory for all NHS and care home staff.
109.
Sajid Javid was warned of staff shortages as a result of this policy.
110.
Sajid Javid warned the country could report 100,000 daily cases over the winter.
111.
Sajid Javid encouraged the public to follow government advice and for those who had not been vaccinated to do so.
112.
Sajid Javid said that he had originally given Johnson the benefit of the doubt, but decided to resign following a Parliament prayer breakfast about integrity in public life.
113.
On 6 July 2022, Sajid Javid delivered in addition to the letter a personal statement in the House of Commons, calling on colleagues to consider following his lead of resigning from cabinet.
114.
In December 2022, Sajid Javid said that he would not stand for re-election at the next general election.
115.
In 2016, Sajid Javid became a supporter of remaining in the European Union as a member of the Britain Stronger in Europe advocacy group in the EU referendum campaign.
116.
Sajid Javid is known to have historically held Eurosceptic views; as a student in 1990 he was thrown out of the Conservative Party conference for handing out leaflets opposing Britain joining the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, the forerunner of the single currency.
117.
In 2015, Sajid Javid was an advocate for holding an EU referendum.
118.
Sajid Javid was not often seen as very committed to that cause, and subsequently became a Leave supporter.
119.
Sajid Javid has maintained his position that politicians should respect the result of the referendum, and when judges ruled that the PM could not trigger the formal Brexit process without Parliament's backing, Sajid Javid accused British High Court judges of attempting to thwart the will of the British people.
120.
Since the referendum Sajid Javid said that he was sceptical of softer Brexit options such as remaining in the customs union, saying the free trade area was an "intrinsic" part of the European Union and that voters had given "clear instructions" when they voted to Leave.
121.
Sajid Javid was regarded as one of Israel's staunchest supporters in the Cabinet, and is a long-time supporter of Conservative Friends of Israel.
122.
At a joint meeting between the American Jewish Committee and the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Sajid Javid told his audience, "As long as I am in government, as long as I am in politics, I promise you that I will do everything within my power to fight back against those who seek to isolate and undermine Israel".
123.
In 2019, Sajid Javid became the first British minister in 19 years to visit the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem.
124.
Sajid Javid was advised by officials not to visit the Western Wall during a visit to Israel because of "long-standing policy of over two-decades".
125.
Sajid Javid has a history of campaigning against Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions.
126.
In 2015, as Culture Secretary, Sajid Javid advised The Board of Deputies that he had "no tolerance for cultural boycotts of Israel".
127.
In 2016, as Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid announced measures to prevent British councils from imposing boycotts of Israel and issued local authorities' with investment guidance affecting Local Government Pension Scheme.
128.
Sajid Javid paid subscriptions to pro-Brexit group the European Research Group from 2013 to 2016.
129.
Sajid Javid was described by Tim Montgomerie as the "first of Thatcher's children".
130.
In 2018, activist Tim Montgomerie wrote that Sajid Javid "identifies the libertarian writer Ayn Rand as an inspiration".
131.
At a Crossbench Film Society event, Sajid Javid chose to introduce the film version of The Fountainhead and described the profound effect it had on him after watching it as a 12-year-old.
132.
Sajid Javid has consistently supported foreign military intervention, having voted for intervening in Gaddafi's Libya, as well as air strikes in Iraq and Syria.
133.
In March 2014, Sajid Javid accused then-Labour Party leader Ed Miliband of having some responsibility for the crisis in Crimea, alleging that there was "a direct link" between Miliband's refusal to support military intervention in Syria and the subsequent Russian activity in Ukraine.
134.
Sajid Javid was raised in a two-bed flat above a shop in Bristol with four brothers.
135.
Bas Sajid Javid had previously served in the Royal Navy, wherein his military service included the Gulf War, for which he received a commendation for teamwork and bravery.
136.
In 1997, Sajid Javid married his childhood sweetheart Laura King, whom he met while sharing a stapler at the local Commercial Union branch during a summer job.
137.
Sajid Javid is a church-going Christian and they have four children.
138.
Sajid Javid is said to have received religious hate mail in the form of a "Punish a Muslim day" parcel; as of March 2018, he was the fifth British MP to receive such abuse.
139.
Sajid Javid has said that it is "lazy" and "wrong" to suggest terror has nothing to do with Islam.
140.
Sajid Javid has criticised those in the Muslim community who question his Muslim faith and refer to him as a "Coconut" or an "Uncle Tom".
141.
In 2021, Sajid Javid said he was rejected early in his political career by a Conservative Association to be their candidate because of his religion and that an Association Chairman has explained: "some members didn't think locals would vote for a Muslim to be their MP".