SUELLA Braverman will keep her job as Home Secretary after she was cleared of breaching ministerial rules as Boris Johnson loyalists lined up to fume over an alleged “witch hunt” against the former prime minister.
The Home Secretary was embroiled in a row after she asked civil servants for advice on dodging a speeding fine – but Rishi Sunak has said her actions did not amount to a breach of the ministerial code.
Right-wing Conservative MPs said they could sense a “witch hunt” after it emerged the Government lawyers who were defending Johnson over Covid rule-breaking discovered what they believed to be evidence of more alleged breaches and referred him to the police for further investigation.
Journalists at sympathetic newspapers were inundated with texts from Tory MPs on Tuesday night after the news was broken by The Times – with some claiming the civil service was behind a politically-motivated attack on the former PM.
Some are reportedly threatening to frustrate the Government’s agenda in retaliation, with The Telegraph’s political editor Christopher Hope reporting an unnamed Tory source as saying: “There is now an open witch hunt against right-wingers in the Conservative Party.
🔥 Senior Tory source tells me: “There is now an open witch hunt against right wingers in the Conservative Party. “The leadership of the party must shut this down immediately. “Active conversations are underway among MPs about how to respond to this and nothing is off the table.”
— Christopher Hope📝 (@christopherhope) May 23, 2023
“The leadership of the party must shut this down immediately.
“Active conversations are underway among MPs about how to respond to this and nothing is off the table.”
Meanwhile, The Times’ Steven Swinford reported one Johnson ally as saying: “Boris has been supporting [the Government] but this act is [the] final straw.
“There are a growing number of MPs who want party leadership to act to stop these witch hunts and a group of MPs will meet today to consider options. Meanwhile, members across [the] country are being organised.”
The MPs may be placated somewhat by Sunak’s decision not to sack the Home Secretary.
He wrote to Braverman: “I have consulted with my independent adviser. He has advised that on this occasion further investigation is not necessary and I have accepted that advice. On the basis of your letter and our discussion, my decision is that these matters do not amount to a breach of the ministerial code.
“As you have recognised, a better course of action could have been taken to avoid giving rise to the perception of impropriety.”
Braverman replied: “I am deeply committed to all the Nolan Principles of Public Life, including honesty, integrity and openness, and I regret that these events have led some to question my commitment.
“I have at all times been truthful and transparent, and taken decisions guided by what I believed was right and appropriate given my office, not by any personal motivation. Another principle, of course, is leadership: Ministers must hold themselves, and be seen to hold themselves, to the highest standards.
“I have always strived, and will continue to strive, to do this.”
