Pressure on Rishi to launch ethics probe over Suella speed row
RISHI Sunak will today come under pressure to launch a sleaze probe into Suella Braverman’s alleged attempts to hide a speeding fine.
The Prime Minister will discuss with his ethics watchdog claims that the Home Secretary asked civil servants to arrange a
private speed awareness course for her so that she would not be seen by other motorists.
He will deal with the crisis after flying back to the UK from Japan, where he had initially refused to say whether she would face an investigation.
Aides said he had been too busy at the G7 summit to speak to Mrs Braverman directly yesterday but would do so this morning. He will also hold crucial discussions with Laurie Magnus, his independent adviser on ministers’ interests.
They will discuss whether Mrs Braverman breached the ministerial code by asking officials to arrange a one-to-one speed awareness session after being caught speeding outside London last summer when she was attorney general. Her allies say the story is a political smear and she merely asked for advice then dealt with the matter herself, accepting a fine and three points for going over a 50mph limit.
The controversy – revealed by The Mail on Sunday – is set to dominate Westminster today with Labour expected to demand ministers answer an urgent question. Mrs Braverman was already scheduled to appear in the Commons to answer Home Office questions.
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said: ‘The Prime Minister must show some backbone and order his ethics adviser to investigate the Home Secretary to get to the bottom of this episode.
‘The public have a right to know whether the minister responsible for law and order sought to abuse her position in an attempt to gain preferential treatment.’
Whitehall sources said they expected the PM to stand by Mrs Braverman unless her story started to unravel. But they warned he had not had time to fully examine the matter.
Tory MP Miriam Cates said: ‘Suella has done nothing wrong. Around 1.5million people take speed awareness courses every year so it’s hardly a news story. In smearing the Home Secretary like this, someone is clearly seeking to play the man not the ball. It’s underhand and undermines democracy.’