Speaking at his first Prime Minister’s Questions, Rishi Sunak defended his decision to bring Suella Braverman back into cabinet as home secretary a mere six days after she'd quit the post under Liz Truss.
Braverman resigned after breaching ministerial code by sending an official document via a personal email.
Sunak said that Braverman had “made an error of judgment” in what she’d done but had “recognised that (error), raised the matter and accepted her mistake.”
The new PM also said that bringing Braverman back into cabinet was a move that would provide more “experience and stability” within government.
However, the decision has been criticised by opposition MPs, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer suggesting that Sunak had made a “grubby deal” with Braverman to bring her back into cabinet in exchange for her support in the recent Tory leadership contest.
Sir Keir said that Sunak had put his party over his country in making the decision and undermined the integrity of government, telling the Commons: “I know first-hand how important it is that we have a home secretary whose integrity and professionalism are beyond question.
“He (the PM) is so weak, he's done a grubby deal trading national security because he was scared to lose another leadership election - there's a new Tory at the top but as always with them party first, country second.”
The SNP’s leader in Westminster, Ian Blackford, also suggested that Sunak had done a “sleazy backroom deal” with Braverman to “shore up his own position”, while Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael suggested that a home secretary who “broke the rules” is “not fit for a Home Office which keeps the rules.”
The Lib Dems have called for an inquiry into Braverman’s return and whether there were “any promises” made “behind closed doors” to reinstate her as home secretary.
A Downing Street spokesperson has denied reports that civil service chief Simon Case had been critical of the decision to re-appoint Braverman, while the prime minister criticised the Labour leader for being “soft on crime and in favour of unlimited immigration”, two issues over which Braverman holds a hardline stance.
While Braverman’s resignation under Liz Truss was linked to her security error, her letter of resignation did hint at concern that the government was not following through on pledges to crack down on illegal immigration.
The Commons Home Affairs Committee has been provided with evidence that 38,000 people have arrived in the UK so far this year after illegally crossing the Channel in small boats, up from the 28,526 that made the perilous crossing throughout the entirety of 2021.
Elsewhere in the session, Sunak said that he was committed to restoring the ban on fracking which had been lifted by Liz Truss, in keeping with promises made in the 2019 Conservative election manifesto.
Photo by HM Treasury and The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP on Wikimedia Commons
