London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 25, 2026

Rishi Sunak defends return of home secretary sacked just a week ago

Rishi Sunak defends return of home secretary sacked just a week ago

Suella Braverman’s reinstatement comes after ‘error of judgment,’ says new PM — as he drops clear hint on fracking policy shift.

Rishi Sunak defended his “unity Cabinet” on Wednesday after coming under fire for reinstating Suella Braverman as the U.K.’s home secretary days after she was forced to resign over a breach of government ethics rules.

Opposition leader Keir Starmer said the post should be held by someone whose “integrity and professionalism are beyond question,” and accused Sunak of doing “a grubby deal trading national security because he was scared to lose another leadership election.”

Braverman, a leading Tory Euroskeptic, was forced to resign from Liz Truss’ Cabinet only last week over her decision to send an unpublished, official Home Office document to a backbench MP — a national security breach of the ministerial code which is meant to police government behavior.

Her endorsement of Sunak in the Tory leadership race over the weekend was seen as crucial in driving momentum behind the new prime minister’s campaign.

Speaking during his first outing in the House of Commons since becoming prime minister, Sunak said Braverman had “made an error of judgment” but said she had “accepted her mistake.” He said he had been delighted to welcome her back into “a united Cabinet that brings experience and stability to the heart of government.”

During a lively first prime minister’s question time, Starmer quipped that the only time Sunak had run in a competitive election he had been “trounced by the former prime minister, who herself got beaten by a lettuce” — a reference to the tabloid stunt which saw Truss’ political survival pitted against the shelf-life of the salad item.

Sunak told MPs he was the “first to admit that mistakes were made” during Truss’ brief tenure and dropped a clear hint that a controversial part of her brief time in office could be junked.

Asked if he would reverse the green light given by the former prime minister to fracking — a method of extracting shale gas disparaged by environmentalists — Sunak told Green MP Caroline Lucas: “I stand by the manifesto on that.” The 2019 Conservative election manifesto said the party would not “support fracking unless the science shows categorically that it can be done safely.”

There was one moment of cross-party unity in the knockabout session: Starmer said Sunak’s appointment as Britain’s first Asian prime minister was “a significant moment in our national story.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Conservative Party Suspends Former Electoral Candidate Following Undercover Investigation
Actors and Writers Condemn British Anti Terror Legislation Targeting Activist Groups and Free Speech
Central Bank and Treasury Monitor Inflation Risks as International Monetary Fund Upgrades United Kingdom Growth Forecast
Storm Boelo Batters British Isles With Eighty Mile Per Hour Winds Causing Widespread Power Outages
British Intelligence Services and Technology Firms Partner to Counter Artificial Intelligence Enabled Cybersecurity Threats
UK Consumer Confidence Falls at Fastest Rate Since Brexit Vote as Cost of Living Intensifies
Chancellor John Healey Prepares Landmark Autumn Budget Focused on Devolution and Fiscal Rules
Northern Ireland Executive Ministers Reach Consensus on Shared Economic Development Priorities to Stimulate Regional Growth in Belfast
Department for Business and Trade Finalizes Conditional Support Package for Advanced Semiconductor Fabrication Facilities in Newport
Welsh Government Unveils Regional Industrial Development Strategy to Attract Green Energy Investment to South Wales Manufacturing Hubs
Foreign Secretary David Lammy Concludes Diplomatic Mission to European Capital Cities to Strengthen Post-Brexit Defense Cooperation
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Implements Stricter Regulatory Compliance Standards for Water Utilities Across England
Office for National Statistics Reports Moderate Wage Growth Stabilization and Resilient Employment Figures Across the United Kingdom
Scottish Government and Trade Union Representatives Reach Tentative Pay Agreement for Public Sector Transport Workers in Edinburgh
National Health Service England Announces Emergency Capital Funding Allocation to Reduce Winter Emergency Department Bottlenecks
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee Signals Cautious Approach to Interest Rate Reductions Amid Persistent Inflation Pressures
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Treasury Officials Finalize Urgent Fiscal Adjustments Ahead of Upcoming National Budget
Tour de France Organizers Confirm Historic Grand Depart Featuring Edinburgh and Yorkshire Stages
National Cyber Security Centre Issues Urgent Alerts Following Global Security Vulnerability in Core Programming Software
Independent Energy Analysts Warn Great Britain Faces Highest Winter Power Tariffs in Europe
Major British Defense Contractors Commit to Delivering Forty Thousand New Apprenticeships and Training Placements
New Bradford Railway Station Infrastructure Project Approved to Transform Regional Transit Connectivity Across Northern England
Welsh Infrastructure Stakeholders Press Government for Accelerated Local Sourcing in Military and Uniform Manufacturing
Scottish Council Governance Crisis Triggers High-Court Legal Challenge Over Leadership Ouster Bid
High Street Bakery Chain Greggs Announces Major Factory Closures and Seven Hundred Job Cuts
Automotive Manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover Advances Advanced Defense Technology Partnership with European Allies
Treasury and Bank of England Officials Signal Persistent Concern Over Inflation-Driven Interest Rate Path
International Monetary Fund Upgrades United Kingdom Growth Forecast While Issuing Inflation Warnings
National Health Service Leaders Warn of Severe Capacity Pressures as Early Winter Respiratory Infections Surge
Government Issues Emergency Resilience Guidance Advising All British Citizens to Stockpile Essential Supplies
United Kingdom Private Sector Growth Beats Expectations in October Driven by Resilient Services and Manufacturing
Barclays to Cut Five Thousand Jobs in Major Artificial Intelligence Adoption and Cost-Cutting Overhaul
Piper Tomahawk Aircraft Crash Near Drymen in Stirling Claims Two Lives as Investigators Deploy
North Sea Transition Authority Approves Jackdaw Gas Field Production After Ministerial Authorization
Government Injects One Hundred and Forty Million Pounds to Expand Urgent Care Ahead of Winter Crisis
Department of Health Warns Further Pay Rises Will Derail National Health Service Waiting List Targets
Major Environmental Emergency Declared in South Wales Following Aerospace Kerosene Spill
Tank Barrel Production Returns to Britain as Defence Contractors Accelerate Domestic Rearmament
Government Approves Controversial Jackdaw Gasfield Development in the North Sea
National Health Service Maternity Safety Review Condemned Over Flawed Artificial Intelligence Integration
Dozens of United Kingdom Government Services Taken Offline Amid Critical Software Vulnerability
Barclays Announces Five Thousand Job Cuts Citing Artificial Intelligence Productivity Gains
Treasury Relaxes Post-Financial Crisis Accountability Rules for City of London Executives
United Kingdom Government Issues Unprecedented Guidance Urging Citizens to Stockpile Essential Supplies
United Kingdom Consumer Inflation Accelerates to Eleven-Month High Driven by Transport Costs
United Kingdom Public Sector Net Debt Breaches Three Trillion Pounds Ahead of Autumn Budget
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Commits Fifty Million Pounds to Establish Regional Artificial Intelligence Innovation Clusters
Ofgem Directs Major Energy Suppliers to Expand Vulnerable Household Support Funds Ahead of Winter Heating Season
Home Office and National Police Chiefs Council Unveil New Intelligence-Led Strategy to Tackle Organised Immigration Crime Networks
First Minister John Swinney Secures Scottish Parliament Approval for Comprehensive Climate and Green Energy Infrastructure Strategy
×