London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Suella Braverman reappointment sets dangerous precedent - MPs

Suella Braverman reappointment sets dangerous precedent - MPs

The reappointment of Suella Braverman as home secretary - after she broke ministerial rules - sets "a dangerous precedent", MPs have said.

Ms Braverman was sacked from her role after leaking restricted material but given her job back just six days later, when Rishi Sunak became prime minister.

Defending the move, Mr Sunak said she had "learned from her mistake".

But a Commons committee said there should be "significant" punishments for ministers leaking documents.

William Wragg, who chairs the public administration and constitutional affairs committee, said a "robust" system for upholding standards was needed, "with proper sanctions for those who break the rules".

Ms Braverman stepped down as home secretary during the final chaotic week of Liz Truss's premiership.

In her resignation letter, Ms Braverman admitted committing a "technical infringement" of the rules by sending an official document to someone unauthorised to receive it.

The following week, Mr Sunak, who had replaced Ms Truss as prime minister, reappointed Ms Braverman to the Home Office.

But the committee said: "A subsequent change in prime minister should not wipe the slate clean and allow for a rehabilitation and a return to ministerial office in a shorter timeframe.

"To allow this to take place does not inspire confidence in the integrity of government nor offer much incentive to proper conduct in future."


The role of ethics adviser to the prime minister has been vacant since June

The committee also expressed concern the government had said its new ethics adviser would not investigate the circumstances surrounding Ms Braverman's resignation.

The government should not have the power to determine what the adviser - yet to be appointed - could investigate, the MPs said.

Two ethics advisers to Downing Street have quit in the past two years - most recently Lord Geidt, in June.

Mr Sunak had pledged to fill the role when he came into office - but Labour has expressed concern the post remains vacant.


'Buck stops'


In its report, the committee also said former ministers who broke rules by taking certain jobs after leaving government should face legal action.

Former ministers are supposed to seek advice from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) - but its powers are limited and it cannot make politicians take its advice.

Responding to the report, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said: "The buck stops with the prime minister - but despite all the promises of integrity, Rishi Sunak clearly has no plan to restore standards in public after years of sleaze and scandal."

Labour would "stop the revolving door between government and the companies that ministers are supposed to regulate, banning ministers from lobbying for at least five years after they leave office and with proper enforcement against those who break the rules", she added.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: "We have been clear that this government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level and we are already taking action to improve the effectiveness of the Business Appointment rules.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×