Downing Street did not agree the incendiary article by Suella Braverman claiming the police were biased in how they treat protests, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said on Thursday.
Amid a storm of protests over the Home Secretary’s comments, No10 said it was looking into what happened in Government regarding the article that was sent to The Times ahead of a pro-Gaza march in London on Armistice Day.
“We will update if appropriate,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said, after making clear the comment piece had not been cleared by No10.
“We are establishing the detail. The content was not agreed with No10.”
However, he said Rishi Sunak continued to have confidence in the Home Secretary despite her accusation of bias against the Met Police.
On Mrs Braverman’s central allegation against the force, he added: “The Prime Minister continues to believe that the police will operate without fear or favour.”
Mr Sunak was not believed to have spoken to Mrs Braverman by mid-morning as No10 was looking into how the article came to be published.
No10 was understood to have asked for changes to the article but that they were not made.
Asked if the article was a breach of the ministerial code, the PM's spokesman said he was not the arbiter of these rules.
Pressed whether Cabinet ministers needed to be reminded about clearing articles with No10, the spokesman added: "The process is well established."
Mr Sunak has faced calls from some Tory, Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs and peers to sack Mrs Braverman.
Police minister Chris Philp was summoned to the Commons to explain her remarks.
Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has said that there currently is no intelligence to show the planned pro-Gaza march on Saturday poses a sufficient public disorder threat for it to be banned. It will not go near the Cenotaph.
In her Times piece ahead of the march calling for a Gaza ceasefire that is set to go ahead on Armistice Day despite Government objections, the Home Secretary said aggressive right-wing protesters are met with a stern response by officers while "pro-Palestinian mobs" are "largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law".
The former chief inspector of constabulary Sir Tom Winsor said Mrs Braverman's comment "crosses the line" by breaking the convention that a Home Secretary should not question the operational integrity of the police.
Questioned about Mrs Braverman's claims of police bias, Transport Secretary Mr Harper directly contradicted her view.
"I think all police forces are focused on upholding the law without fear or favour," he told Times Radio on Thursday.
