London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jun 29, 2026

2 UK MPs Question Suella Braverman's Return To PM Rishi Sunak's Cabinet

2 UK MPs Question Suella Braverman's Return To PM Rishi Sunak's Cabinet

On Wednesday, Labour leader Keir Starmer accused Rishi Sunak of giving Braverman a job in exchange for her support in the race for the leadership.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday came under fresh pressure on the re-appointment of Indian-origin Suella Braverman as home secretary after two Conservative MPs questioned his decision, days after she quit over data breaches.

Braverman, 42, resigned from the Cabinet of former prime minister Liz Truss last week, having breached the ministerial code by sending secure information from her private email. She was reappointed by Sunak, the newly-appointed Prime Minister, on Tuesday, leading to growing calls for her resignation.

Conservative MP Caroline Nokes said there were "big questions" hanging over the issue and called for a full inquiry. And former Tory Party chairman Jake Berry said Braverman's breaches had been multiple and serious.

However, the new Chairman of the Conservative Party Nadhim Zahawi defended Sunak's move, telling the BBC he believed in "redemption".

"The prime minister looked at this case and he decided to give her a second chance," he said.

Speaking in the House of Lords, Cabinet Office minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe said the prime minister Sunak "was clear this is a government with integrity, professionalism and accountability", adding: "I believe it was right to bring her back." In her resignation letter on October 19, Braverman admitted committing a "technical infringement" of the rules by sending an official document to someone not authorised to receive it.

"I have made a mistake; I accept responsibility; I resign," she wrote.

However, just six days later Sunak, the first Indian-origin British Prime Minister re-appointed Braverman as home secretary. It came two days after Braverman had thrown her support behind him in the contest to replace Truss, in what was widely seen as a significant endorsement by an influential figure on the right of the Conservative Party.

On Wednesday, Labour leader Keir Starmer accused Sunak of giving Braverman a job in exchange for her support in the race for the leadership.

"He's so weak, he's done a grubby deal trading national security because he was scared to lose another leadership election," he told MPs at Prime Minister's Questions. Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have also called for inquiries into Braverman's reappointment.

Taking his first Prime Minister's Questions, Sunak strongly justified his decision telling MPs: "The home secretary made an error of judgment but she recognised that, she raised the matter and she accepted her mistake." But Nokes - Conservative MP for Romsey and Southampton North - agreed there should be an inquiry into Braverman's reappointment.

Speaking to BBC Radio Solent, she said: "I think what is apparent is that there are big questions hanging over this whole issue.

"And to be frank I would like to see them cleared up so that the home secretary can get on with her job." Berry - who served as party chairman under Truss but was fired by Sunak - has also questioned Braverman's return to the cabinet.

He told Talk TV that Braverman had sent a document "from a private email address to another MP, she then sought to copy in that individual's wife but accidentally sent it to a staffer in Parliament.

"To me, that seems to be a really serious breach - the cabinet secretary had his say at the time. I doubt he has changed his mind in the last six days." A No 10 spokesperson has denied reports that cabinet secretary Simon Case - the head of the civil service - was "livid" about the appointment.

The BBC has been told that the home secretary has requested further briefings on email security.

Raising the matter in the House of Lords, former Labour Home Secretary David, now Lord, Blunkett told peers the security and intelligence services could be reluctant to brief the home secretary and that other international security agencies would be reluctant to share information with the UK "if they're fearful that information will be passed out from government itself".

Another row surrounding Braverman is also brewing with the Labour Party calling for a probe into reports that, as attorney general, she was investigated over the leaking of information related to the security services, according to British media reports.

Braverman, the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Fareham in south-east England, served as the Attorney General in the Boris Johnson-led government.

She was among the first contenders to throw her hat in the ring to replace Johnson as Tory leader and Prime Minister. She was named as the Home Secretary by Prime Minister Truss.

The mother of two children is the daughter of Hindu Tamil mother Uma and Goan-origin father Christie Fernandes. Her mother migrated to the UK from Mauritius while her father migrated from Kenya in the 1960s.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Launches New Measures to Improve Safety Standards in Night-Time Venues
UK Tightens Import Rules for Low-Value Parcels to Support Domestic Retailers
UK Launches £85 Million Obesity Care Programme Targeting Early Intervention Projects
UK Commits Up to $26 Million to Ebola Response in Democratic Republic of Congo
Security Industry Authority Flags Safety Failures in Night-Time Economy Inspections
Cambridge South Railway Station Opens After £250 Million Investment
UK Moves to Close Import Duty Loophole for Small Parcels by 2028
UK Invests £85 Million in Projects to Transform Obesity Care
Berkeley Group Warns London Housebuilding Falling Far Short of Demand
UK Council Tax Arrears Rise to £9.3 Billion Amid Ongoing Household Financial Strain
Markets Watch Political Transition as Andy Burnham Emerges as Labour Leadership Frontrunner
Extreme Heat Raises Long-Term Risks for UK Inflation and Productivity, Analysts Warn
UK Health Alerts Extended as Record June Heatwave Grips England
UK Parliament Faces High-Stakes Week of Spending, Security and Industrial Legislation
UK Repeals Vagrancy Act Ending Criminalisation of Rough Sleeping in England and Wales
GB News Pundit Charged With Fraud Over Alleged Conduct as Former Labour Adviser
Reform UK Gains Parliamentary Visibility in First Senedd Opposition Appearance
Metropolitan Police Arrest Man on Suspicion of Attempted Murder After London Car Incident
Ocado Chief Executive Tim Steiner Faces Scrutiny Over £100 Million Remuneration Package
British Chambers of Commerce Downgrades UK Growth Outlook to 0.9 Percent for 2026
Nottingham University Hospitals Maternity Failings Trigger Renewed Calls for Public Inquiry
Severe Heatwave Disrupts UK Transport Networks and Strains Public Services Across England
Labour Leadership Transition Raises Prospect of Andy Burnham Becoming UK Prime Minister
UK Government Confirms Further Medicine Price Concessions for Community Pharmacies in June
British Chambers of Commerce Calls for Public Procurement Reform to Boost Regional Growth
Thousands Mark Armed Forces Day Across the United Kingdom With National Parades and Flypasts
Man Arrested in Ealing on Suspicion of Attempted Murder After Vehicle Ramming Incident Injures Five
Cambridge South Station Opens With £250 Million Investment to Strengthen Life Sciences Corridor
UK Heat-Health Alerts Extended Across England as High Temperatures Persist
Thames Water and Energy Operators Warn of Peak Demand Risks During UK Heatwave
Government Conference Highlights Push for Evidence-Led Policy Across UK Public Sector
Insolvency Service Reports Improved Confidence in UK Insolvency System
Security Industry Authority Finds Widespread Safety Failures in UK Night-Time Economy
Nigel Farage Expands Anti-WHO Campaign Into United States With New Lobbying Structure
Home Secretary Seema Mahmood Unveils New Safe Routes Plan for Asylum Seekers
UK Government Warns of Peak Electricity and Water Pressure Amid Ongoing Heatwave
New Nuclear Plant in Wales Named Gwyndod Power Station as Energy Strategy Advances
UK Announces First Major Hydropower Projects in Four Decades to Expand Renewable Capacity
Thirteen Men Charged in Major UK Sexual Abuse Case as Investigation Continues
UK Launches Cross-Sector Climate Security Taskforce Linking Environment and National Security
UN Secretary-General António Guterres Calls for Urgent Global Methane Emissions Cuts in London
World Bank Approves $1 Billion UK-Backed Financing Package for Ukraine Recovery
UK Pledges Emergency Aid and Rescue Team Deployment to Earthquake-Hit Venezuela
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75 Percent for Fourth Straight Meeting
Record-Breaking Heatwave Puts Strain on UK Health Services and Energy Networks
London Ambulance Service Sees Record Emergency Demand as Heatwave Intensifies
British Chambers of Commerce Warns of Prolonged Weak Investment Climate Through 2027
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates as Inflation Risks Persist
UK Construction Sector Faces One Percent Contraction Amid Cost and Investment Pressures
Former DUP Leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson Convicted of Sexual Offences
×