Thursday, October 27, 2022
Sunak blows his fresh start
If anybody had an opportunity to get the government off to a fresh start, it was Rishi Sunak. Entering number 10 Downing Street to replace the incompetent Liz Truss and the dissolute Boris Johnson, all he had to do was play it straight, not make any obvious mistakes and look the part. Alas, the internal politics of the Conservative Party, and whatever deals he struck to get thw support of his Parliamentary Party's right wing, has left him mired in controversy from day one.
The Guardian reports that Sunak's decision to reappoint Suella Braverman six days after she was forced to resign for a security breach has left him facing fresh questions after a former chairman of the Conservative party claimed the home secretary was responsible for “multiple breaches of the ministerial code”.
They say that 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?”
It is not just Braverman. Sunak has also brought Gavin Williamson back to ministerial office, despite him previously being sacked from the cabinet after leaking important information from the National Security Council.
The other big concern about Braverman is her approach to policy. I think it is fair to say that she makes Priti Patel look like a socialist Her 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.
If she intends to pursue similar policies now, then Sunak has no chance of distinguishing his tenure in Number Ten from that of his two predecessors.
The Guardian reports that Sunak's decision to reappoint Suella Braverman six days after she was forced to resign for a security breach has left him facing fresh questions after a former chairman of the Conservative party claimed the home secretary was responsible for “multiple breaches of the ministerial code”.
They say that 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?”
It is not just Braverman. Sunak has also brought Gavin Williamson back to ministerial office, despite him previously being sacked from the cabinet after leaking important information from the National Security Council.
The other big concern about Braverman is her approach to policy. I think it is fair to say that she makes Priti Patel look like a socialist Her 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.
If she intends to pursue similar policies now, then Sunak has no chance of distinguishing his tenure in Number Ten from that of his two predecessors.
