Ex-Tory chairman alleges Braverman responsible
for ‘multiple breaches of ministerial code’
Opposition call for inquiry as Braverman is
reappointed home secretary six days after resigning over security breach
Rajeev Syal
, Jessica Elgot and Kevin Rawlinson
Wed 26 Oct
2022 22.57 BST
Rishi
Sunak’s decision to reappoint Suella Braverman six days after she was forced to
resign for a security breach is facing fresh questions after a former chairman
of the Conservative party claimed the home secretary was responsible for
“multiple breaches of the ministerial code”.
Jake Berry,
who sat in the cabinet alongside Braverman at the heart of Liz Truss’s
government, said she was responsible for a “really serious breach” after
sending confidential information to a private address, sending it to an MP,
attempting to send it to the MP’s wife and then accidentally sending it to a
member of parliamentary staff.
He also
indicated that the UK’s most senior civil servant, Simon Case, had been
consulted and ruled that it had broken the rules.
Sunak told
MPs on Wednesday that Braverman had made an “error of judgment” and had
recognised her mistake, adding: “That’s why I was delighted to welcome her back
into a united cabinet that brings experience and stability to the heart of
government.”
Asked
during prime minister’s questions if officials had raised concerns about the
appointment– given Case was said to have been furious – Sunak simply said he
had already “addressed the issue”.
Speaking to
Piers Morgan Uncensored on Wednesday night, Berry said there had been “multiple
breaches of the ministerial code” after Braverman had sent the document to her
confidante and fellow MP Sir John Hayes.
“It was
sent from a private email address to another member of parliament,” he told
TalkTV’s Kate McCann. “She then sought to copy in that individual’s wife and
accidentally sent it to a staffer in parliament. To me, that seems a really
serious breach, especially when it was documents relating to cyber security, as
I believe. That seems a really serious breach.
“The
cabinet secretary had his say at the time, I doubt he changed his mind in the
last six days but that is a matter for the new prime minister.”
The shadow
home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said Berry’s intervention was “extraordinary”
and “very serious”, and highlighted Berry’s comments about “cybersecurity
breaches”.
Tweeting at
the prime minister, she wrote: “What security warnings did you ignore when you
reappointed home secretary?”
Braverman’s
short time at the Home Office was marked by a hardline approach to a multitude
of issues, including proposing to ban people entering the UK via small boats
from claiming asylum.
It emerged
on Wednesday that more than 38,000 people have arrived in the UK after crossing
the Channel in more than 900 boats in 2022 to date, compared with 28,526 last
year.
The
clandestine Channel threat commander, Dan O’Mahoney, told the Commons home
affairs committee during the hearing that in 2021 the interception rate for
French police stopping people trying to cross the Channel was 50%, but this
year it has dropped to 42.5%.
He accepted
this was a lower percentage but stressed it was a “much, much bigger number”,
telling how French authorities had stopped 28,000 migrants crossing the Channel
and intercepted and destroyed 1,072 boats so far this year.
The
disclosure comes after Labour and the Liberal Democrats called for a Cabinet
Office inquiry into national security concerns after Braverman was reinstated.
No 10 refused to deny officials advised against reappointing her to a great
office of state.
ThCooper,
wrote to Case demanding an investigation , a request echoed by the Lib Dems’
home affairs spokesperson, Alistair Carmichael.
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The head of
the FDA senior civil servants’ union, Dave Penman, told the Guardian the
reappointment was a clear example of “double standards” given that his members
would face severe punishments for similar behaviour.
“If a civil
servant had acted in the way that Suella Braverman was alleged to, using
private email accounts to send confidential government business to personal
contacts, they would rightly be expected to face the harshest of penalties and
lose their security clearance.
“Standards
matter, and the clear signal from her appointment is that ministers can act
with impunity if it suits the prime minister.”
The Labour
leader, Keir Starmer, replied during PMQs that a deal had been struck to shore
up support from hard-right MPs who support Braverman. “He’s so weak, he’s done
a grubby deal trading national security because he was scared to lose another
leadership election,” Starmer said.
Braverman
left the chamber just minutes before a debate on her conduct after Labour was
granted an urgent question.
Cooper said
there were many unanswered questions regarding Braverman’s conduct. “Is this
the only time she has done this or has she shared other documents? Or other
sensitive information?
“What
security clearance has the home secretary been given? Does she still have
access to the most sensitive documents and information? Did the cabinet
secretary warn against her reappointment?”
Replying for
the government, the paymaster general, Jeremy Quin, was unable to say whether
the home secretary had been given full security clearance. He did, however, say
that the government would appoint a new independent ethics adviser.
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