Rishi Sunak insisted Suella Braverman’s security breach was a “mistake”, as No 10 did not deny claims officials advised against reappointing her Home Secretary days after she was forced out.
Mr Sunak said on Wednesday he was “delighted” to enlist the MP, who was the shortest-serving home secretary in history when Liz Truss dismissed her, to his “united Cabinet”.
The Prime Minister is facing calls to launch an official inquiry into Ms Braverman breaking the ministerial code by sharing a sensitive document with a Tory backbencher from a personal email.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Mr Sunak of doing “a grubby deal trading national security” in order to buy her support in the Tory leadership election.
Downing Street denied reports that Cabinet Secretary Simon Case is “livid” over her swift return and “very concerned” about the breach.
“There were reports about the Cabinet Secretary’s reaction which I certainly don’t recognise,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said. “There was a report about him being livid.”
But he declined to deny suggestions that Mr Sunak had been advised by officials against rehiring Ms Braverman.
Instead he said: “I’m simply not going to be drawn more into what advice ministers, or indeed prime ministers, receive from officials.”
No 10 did say that Mr Sunak will “shortly” appoint a new independent ethics adviser, filling a gap left by Ms Truss after Lord Geidt quit in June after a challenging period advising Boris Johnson.
But the spokesman declined to say whether the new adviser would be asked to investigate Ms Braverman.
Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats raised “national security” concerns and demanded a Cabinet Office investigation.
Mr Sunak defended her appointment during his first Prime Minister’s Questions, saying: “The Home Secretary made an error of judgment but she recognised that, she raised the matter and she accepted her mistake.
“That is why I was delighted to welcome her back into a united cabinet that brings experience and stability to the heart of Government.”
But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “He’s so weak, he’s done a grubby deal trading national security because he was scared to lose another leadership election.”
Ms Braverman, who had been in the role six weeks when she was forced out, said she made a “mistake” which she conceded was a “technical infringement” of the rules.
But questions remain about why she sent the document to fellow right-winger Sir John Hayes and how she accidentally copied in an aide to another MP, who sounded the alarm.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper wrote to Mr Case demanding an investigation “into the extent of this and other possible security breaches”.
“Given the Prime Minister’s decision to reappoint her to the Cabinet post overseeing national security, it is vital for the public to have transparency on what occurred,” she wrote.
“It must include the extent of the Home Secretary’s use of private email accounts to circulate Government papers and the extent to which official documents have been sent outside Government, as well as any other concerns that have been raised about possible serious information and security breaches by Suella Braverman.”
The Lib Dems also demanded an inquiry into Mr Sunak’s decision to reappoint her “including any promises Sunak made to her behind closed doors”.
A Home Secretary who broke the rules is not fit for a Home Office which keeps the rules— Lib Dem Alistair Carmichael
Home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said in a statement: “If it is confirmed that Suella Braverman repeatedly broke the ministerial code and threatened national security, she must be sacked.
“A Home Secretary who broke the rules is not fit for a Home Office which keeps the rules.”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt defended her reappointment, but declined to say whether he trusts Ms Braverman, with the leaked information in question said to have been market sensitive.
Mr Hunt told broadcasters: “She apologised for her mistakes. She’s been fully accountable for those mistakes, she stepped down as Home Secretary.
“But from the point of view of people at home, who want stability in the economy, they also need to see a united Conservative Party and that’s why the Prime Minister has put together a Cabinet of all the talents.”
