Labour demands answers on comeback of ‘Leaky Su’
The UK Government has been told to publish the reports into Suella Braverman’s security breaches received before she was reappointed as home secretary.
Labour says too many questions are unanswered after she made a comeback to the Home Office just six days after she was sacked by former prime minister Liz Truss.
New PM Rishi Sunak has resisted demands to launch an inquiry into Braverman breaking the Ministerial Code for reportedly leaking confidential information about his predecessor’s plans to ease immigration rules to a backbencher, Sir John Hayes, from her private email account. By mistake she also sent it to another MP, who promptly reported the breach to party whips.
Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have raised national security concerns and called for a Cabinet Office probe. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has demanded the home secretary’s sacking, accusing Sunak of brokering a grubby deal, trading security for the support of right-wing MPs in the Tory leadership contest.
Labour will this week push ministers to share risk assessments of this and other alleged disclosures, which reportedly earned the home secretary the nickname “Leaky Su.”
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “People need to know they can trust the home secretary with highly sensitive information and our national security. Rishi Sunak’s decision to reappoint Suella Braverman was deeply irresponsible.
“Labour will use every parliamentary mechanism open to force Government to come clean over her reappointment, to get answers and to require detailed documents to be released to the Intelligence and Security Committee.”
Braverman, a former chairman of the European Research Group of right-wing Eurosceptic Tories, endorsed Sunak in the latest leadership contest. Former prime minister Boris Johnson left the contest hours after the endorsement, while Penny Mordaunt withdrew minutes before the deadline and Sunak was elected without a vote of party members.
He reappointed Braverman as home secretary claiming she had recognised her error over the security breach and had apologised.
However, Sir Jake Berry, the former Tory chairman, said last week the Cabinet minister had committed multiple breaches of the ministerial code through her technical infringement of the rules.
It was also reported last week that Braverman was questioned by Government officials as part of a separate leak inquiry in January when she was attorney general. That prompted another Tory MP to question her reappointment. Mark Pritchard – a former member of Westminster’s Intelligence and Security Committee – said: “MI5 need to have confidence in the home secretary, whoever that might be.”
Braverman has so far refused to appear before MPs to explain her conduct. When asked whether Sunak believed MI5 had confidence in Braverman, his spokesperson said: “Yes, the home secretary continues to have strong relationships with all the operational bodies that report into the Home Office.”
Asked if Sunak was concerned security analysts might be reluctant to share information with the Home Office, the official said: “No, and any suggestion of that would be entirely false.”