Sunak stands by Suella over speeding row
Rishi rules there will be no ethics probe
RISHI Sunak dodged a row with the Tory Right yesterday, after ruling Suella Braverman should not be investigated over her handling of a speeding offence.
After days of deliberation, the Prime Minister said the Home Secretary did not break the ministerial code by asking civil servants for advice on whether she could attend a speed awareness course rather than take points on her licence.
Labour accused her of breaking the code by asking officials for advice on a personal issue. But, in an exchange of letters yesterday, the Prime Minister said his ethics chief Sir Laurie Magnus had ruled that ‘on this occasion, further investigation is not necessary’.
He said that, on the basis of the Home Secretary’s explanation, ‘these matters do not amount to a breach of the ministerial code’.
The decision calmed a backlash by allies of Mrs Braverman, who warned that she faced a ‘witch hunt’ by opponents of her plans to curb immigration. In her letter to the PM, the Home Secretary apologised that the row had caused a ‘distraction’ to Government.
She said that, with hindsight, she would have been better to simply accept the penalty points at the outset. But she insisted she had done nothing wrong.
In his response, Mr Sunak noted: ‘As you have recognised, a better course of action could have been taken to avoid giving rise to the perception of impropriety.’
In the Commons, Sir Keir Starmer mocked the Home Secretary,
saying she appeared to have ‘a problem coping with points-based systems’ – a reference to the Government’s adoption of an Australian-style pointsbased immigration system.
The row came after Mrs Braverman was caught speeding in a 50mph zone last summer, when she was Attorney General.
In her letter yesterday she said she booked a speed awareness course rather than take the penalty points. But she said the situation became more complicated shortly afterwards when she was appointed as Home Secretary.
Mrs Braverman said that her new role raised additional security concerns about attending the course. The Cabinet Office advised her it was ‘not appropriate’ to ask civil servants to help.
But her special advisers did investigate whether there was a way to do the course which would ‘maintain my security and privacy’. Her letter stated that advisers were concerned she could be recorded during an online course.
She said her preference was to attend in person, but this was ruled out on security grounds. Allies of Mrs Braverman had warned the Prime Minister against an investigation under the ministerial code, which could have led to her removal from office.
But opposition figures yesterday condemned Mr Sunak’s decision. Labour said a ‘cosy exchange of letters’ had replaced the ‘recognised process’ for investigating ministerial conduct.
‘The whole point of having an independent adviser is so that these matters can be looked at thoroughly and these facts can be put in the public domain in a way that isn’t subject to political spin,’ a party spokesman said.
Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain called the decision ‘a cowardly cop-out’.
‘Maintain security and privacy’