Boris Johnson's ethics chief is investigating the Prime Minister's new Commons Leader over racism allegations, it has emerged.
The former Chief Whip was handed a promotion in Tuesday's reshuffle, when it was already known he was at the centre of a Cabinet Office probe into claims made by Tory MP Nusrat Ghani that she was sacked because of her "Muslimness".
Now Mr Spencer, who will begin attending the Prime Minister's Cabinet meetings in his new role, has confirmed ethics chief Lord Geidt - whose job it is to probe breaches of the Ministerial Code - is investigating him.
Ms Ghani said last month that she was told by the then-Chief Whip she was sacked as Transport Minister in 2021 because her Muslim faith "had been raised as an issue” and made colleagues uncomfortable.
The Commons Leader - who is responsible for representing backbenchers and upholding standards in parliament - identified himself as the whip involved in Ms Ghani's complaint, but denied the claims, which he said were false and “defamatory”.
No10 originally claimed a broader Cabinet Office probe would "establish the facts" but Mr Spencer himself has now confirmed Lord Geidt is leading the probe.
He revealed the development as part of an interview with BBC Radio Nottingham, when he said he was "pretty excited" about his new "cool job".
Of Ms Ghani's complaint, he said: "That investigation is ongoing. We wait for the results of that. If I'm honest with you, that's a bit rough. When you're accused of something of that nature, it's a bit rough not being able to defend yourself until the results of that investigation come forward.
"I've just got to keep my mouth shut, present the facts to Lord Geidt, who is doing the investigation, and once that's concluded we'll be able to have a fairly open conversation about that."
It also comes after senior Tory MP William Wragg said whips were using underhand tactics to strong-arm MPs into backing the Government.
Mr Spencer said of that row: "Some of that is subject to investigation so I can't really say too much, but it's very easy to make an allegation. It takes a long time then to investigate that and unfortunately I'm stuck in this limbo land so we will have to wait for the results of that investigation."
Thangam Debbonaire, Labour ’s Shadow Commons Leader, said Mr Spencer's promotion was the "latest in a long line of appointments that demonstrates this Government’s complete disregard for standards in politics".
She said: “It is completely inappropriate for the Prime Minister to appoint as leader of the House a man who faces an ongoing investigation into grotesque racism and who has been publicly accused of blackmail and threatening to withdraw investments for schools and hospitals unless MPs toe the line."
The PM’s official spokesman said: “There is a process set out for how this takes place with regards to this specific investigation with Lord Geidt having a role working alongside the Cabinet Office.”
No 10 said Lord Geidt had been involved “from the start” after the PM asked for an inquiry to establish the facts.
Asked what message this sends to Muslims, the PM’s press secretary said: “The PM’s been clear there is absolutely no place in our society for anti-Muslim hatred, racism or discrimination of any kind. As we have said, he asked for an investigation to establish the facts in this case.”
