Rishi Sunak has been urged to launch an investigation into Suella Braverman’s handling of a speeding offence, as the scandal that threatens to deepen rifts in the Tory party.
The prime minister is said to be considering emails in which Whitehall officials raised concerns to the Cabinet Office’s propriety and ethics team about Ms Braverman’s request for help to arrange a private speed awareness course.
Mr Sunak endured an awkward cabinet meeting on Tuesday, with his home secretary accused of breaching the ministerial code by asking taxpayer-funded civil servants to assist with a private matter.
Senior Conservatives told The Independent that Ms Braverman had shown “constant poor judgement” and appeared to have made “a mistake too far”.
Ms Braverman insisted she had done “nothing untoward”. She has admitted speeding and paying a fine – but did not deny asking officials for help in trying to arrange a one-to-one speed course rather than joining fellow motorists on the programme.
Officials were so concerned by her alleged request they emailed the Cabinet Office’s propriety and ethics team, who told them to disregard it, according to The Times.
The newspaper also claimed the emails show that Ms Braverman instructed them to organise the course, rather than simply soliciting advice, as suggested by her allies.
This piles pressure on Mr Sunak to launch an investigation into allegations she breached the ministerial code, as does reporting by The Guardian that the most senior civil servant in the Home Office was informed about the claims.
A senior official is said to have reported Ms Braverman’s initial request to Matthew Rycroft, the department’s permanent secretary, due to concerns about whether it was appropriate.
Mr Sunak spoke to both his independent adviser on ministers’ interests Sir Laurie Magnus and the home secretary on Monday as he considered his response, telling MPs he had “asked for further information”.
Sir Laurie cannot begin an investigation into a minister’s conduct without the authorisation of the PM.
But No 10 said on Tuesday that Mr Sunak has not yet decided whether to ask his ethics adviser to investigate Ms Braverman’s handling of her speeding offence. “He is still looking at all the requisite information before coming to a decision,” said the PM’s official spokesman.
Tory MPs are split between those who want to see Ms Braverman fired if a rule breach is proven and allies who claim disgruntled civil servants are behind the “storm in a teacup”.
One Tory minister told The Independent: “The PM should ask Sir Laurie to investigate urgently. If she’s found to have breached ministerial code – again – she should absolutely go.”
A former cabinet minister said there was “clearly” a case for investigation – adding that it appeared to be “a mistake too far” for Ms Braverman. “Frankly, there have been a number of lapses of judgement. If there’s a breach of code the prime minister might want to get someone else.”
Another Tory ex-minister added: “It’s behaviour which illustrates her constant poor judgement. The PM will be damaged if he lets her continue peddling inflated rhetoric and giving speeches that trash the Conservative brand.”
One senior Tory said colleagues would be “less sympathetic” if Ms Braverman is found to have broken the rules because she has “a track record”, adding: “Despite all this stuff about her representing a faction, it is a pretty small faction and a lot of right-wingers do not like her at all.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Ms Braverman should resign if she is found to have broken the ministerial code, while the Liberal Democrats said Mr Sunak’s “inability to act” on a probe “is a clear failure of leadership”.
Sir Alistair Graham, former chair of the committee on standards in public life, also called for an investigation – saying it “looks like totally inappropriate behaviour”.
The ex-standards chief told The Independent: “If the evidence demonstrates she asked civil servants to behave in an inappropriate manner, I would think it would be a breach of the code.”
But her allies have argued she was the victim of a smear campaign. Craig Mackinlay MP said the row over Ms Braverman’s speeding fine is a “total storm in a teacup”.
Henry Smith MP said the speeding story suggested “a wider movement” against Ms Braverman in Whitehall. “There is a lot of pushback against policies she is pursuing, particularly the Rwanda plan, so I suspect that is what is more behind this,” the Tory backbencher added.
Former Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said there was no need for an investigation. He told BBC Radio 4: “I would have thought the prime minister could think this through pretty clearly, that this is not a big story.”
Former head of the civil service Lord Kerslake said Mr Sunak should “get on with it” and launch a formal inquiry. “He seems to be doing a sloppy investigation before an investigation, but he’d be better just to get on with it and get Sir Laurie to undertake the necessary work,” he told Channel 4 News.
Meanwhile, the Lib Dems’ chief whip Wendy Chamberlain has written to cabinet secretary Simon Case to urge him to investigate whether Ms Braverman instructed her special adviser to deny that she had “been done for speeding”.
The Home Office and Ms Braverman’s aide have been approached for comment.
