By Ben Kerrigan-
Uk prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has been accused of immediately breaking his pledge to restore government integrity by bringing Suella Braverman back as home secretary in exchange for a key endorsement for his leadership bid.
In his first prime minister’s questions, Sunak attempted to address concerns about one of the most senior roles handed out in his cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday-that of the Home Secretary.
Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, questioned Sunak’s commitment to accountability and professionalism after Braverman was brought back into the government despite “deliberately pinging around sensitive Home Office documents” from a personal email account.
Starmer said Sunak was “so weak he’s done a grubby deal trading national security because he was scared to lose another leadership election”, vocalising a concern some Conservative MPs have raised privately over the past 24 hours.
Braverman was forced to quit last week for breaching the ministerial code, and three days later, after Liz Truss’s government had collapsed, endorsed Sunak. The move was seen as a crucial win for Sunak, allowing him to demonstrate he had support from the right of the party.
Starmer asked Sunak if she had been right to resign last week, adding that the home secretary’s integrity and professionalism should be “beyond question”.
The prime minster said Braverman had made an error of judgment and recognised her mistake, adding:
That’s why I was delighted to welcome her back into a united cabinet that brings experience and stability to the heart of government.
Asked if officials had raised concerns about the appointment, given the cabinet secretary, Simon Case, was said to have been furious, Sunak dodged the question and said he had already “addressed the issue”. Starmer said the evasion showed that while there was a “new Tory at the top”, Sunak had demonstrated he would put the “party first and country second”.
Attacks levied at Sunak during PMQs included raising his wife’s former non-dom tax status, which she was able to use as an Indian citizen. Starmer said abolishing that method of tax relief would generate £3.2bn a year.
But the prime minister batted away the suggestion, saying he was glad Labour “finally realised that spending does need to be paid for” and promised to “protect the most vulnerable” when “difficult decisions” were made at the autumn statement next month.
Starmer also raised a video of Sunak speaking to party activists that emerged over the summer, showing him bragging about undoing government funding formulas that “shoved all the funding into deprived urban areas”.
Sunak said there were deprived areas in rural and coastal communities, as well as across the south-east, adding: “Leadership is not selling fairytales, it is confronting challenges.”
Starmer urged Sunak to call a general election and “let working people have their say”.
Keir pointed to his own experience as head of the Crown Prosecution Service adding: “I know first-hand how important it is that we have a home secretary whose integrity and professionalism are beyond question.
“He’s so weak, he’s done a grubby deal trading national security because he was scared to lose another leadership election – there’s a new Tory at the top but as always with them party first, country second.”
The Liberal Democrats have also been critical of the appointment with the party’s home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said: “A home secretary who broke the rules is not fit for a Home Office which keeps the rules.”
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford accused the prime minister of doing “a sleazy backroom deal to shore up his own position”.
Opposition parties are calling for investigations – the Liberal Democrats want an inquiry into Ms Braverman’s appointment “including any promises Sunak made to her behind closed doors”, while Labour wants one into possible security breaches by the home secretary.