Rishi Sunak to Consult an Independent Ethics Advisor on Suella Braverman

The prime minister will consult his independent ethics adviser on the revelation that the home secretary asked officials to help her with a speeding ticket.

Rishi Sunak will consult his adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, on Monday after he returns from the G7 summit in Japan, Downing Street has confirmed.

On Sunday, the prime minister refused to say whether he would order an inquiry when questioned at the Japanese summit or confirm he supported the home minister, though a Downing Street spokeswoman later said “of course” he would.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman, 43, was caught speeding last summer and is said to have asked public officials to help organize a personalized driving awareness course.

The one-on-one session would have allowed her to avoid the three-point penalty on her license and prevent other motorists from seeing her on a group ride after going over the limit in a 50-mph zone last summer.

Opposition parties demanded an immediate investigation and Ms Braverman also received warnings from Tory colleagues on Sunday that she had a “case to answer”.

It is understood that after civil servants refused to cooperate, claiming that Civil Service rules prevented them from dealing with personal matters, a political adviser contacted the course provider, but was unsuccessful in arranging a course.

The Home Secretary then accepted the points and a fine. Sources said that she was concerned about her insurance premiums and she preferred to take a speed awareness course for that reason.

Sir Jake Berry, a former minister, highlighted the fact that a number of high-profile public figures had recently accepted points and fines for speeding, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Manchester City Mayor Andy Burnham and ministers Robert Jenrick. and Tom Tugendhat.

He told the BBC on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: ‘You shouldn’t do it in the first place, but if you get caught, just take the medicine.’

Sir Jake said he did not know if Mrs Braverman had breached the ministerial code because he did not have enough information about the case.

Therese Coffey, from the Environment Cult, told Sky News Sophy Ridge On Sunday: “I’m not in the business of calling people at 7:20 in the morning to try to get chapters and verses from a colleague .

“What is clear is that Suella now has those three points on her license and is continuing with the job of tackling illegal immigration.”

Traffic attorney Nick Freeman said Sunday night: “My view is that if you commit a speeding offense or any other offense, it’s a private matter and you should treat it privately and you shouldn’t use taxes.” funded employees to help you with that private problem.

‘So that’s the potential for political fallout for her, but not in asking for or requesting a one-on-one course, there’s nothing inappropriate about that at all.

‘If you don’t ask, you don’t get.’

Freeman said she had “shot herself in the foot” by not immediately coming clean about the speeding.

‘If she got a lawyer to do it, no one would notice, she would have taken the course, the course provider wouldn’t leak her information and neither would the lawyer.

‘She is the author of her own misfortune; one for speeding, two for talking to public officials about organizing the course, three for failing to get a lawyer to handle the matter for her, and four for not immediately coming out and raising her hands.

At a press conference on Sunday, Rishi Sunak refused to endorse the Interior Minister amid calls from opposition parties for an official investigation. Ms Braverman will face questions in the House of Commons on Monday.

It is understood that the Prime Minister was unaware of the fine or that the Home Secretary had asked for the help of officials until the story broke in The Sunday Times.

Sunak declined to answer multiple questions about Braverman, who was caught exceeding the limit last summer when he was attorney general, at a G7 news conference in Japan.

He expressed his frustration when asked if he would ask his ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, to look into the claims.

“Did you have any questions about the summit?” he asked, before being questioned further about Ms. Braverman at a press conference in Hiroshima.

Sir Laurie can only launch an inquiry into possible breaches of the ministerial code if requested to do so by the Prime Minister.

Asked if he had full confidence in Ms Braverman, Mr Sunak said he did not know the “full details” and had not yet spoken to her.

But he noted that she had “expressed regret” over speeding. A No10 spokeswoman later insisted that he had complete confidence in her.

One option Ms. Braverman followed was for her to join a virtual group, but with the camera turned off, contrary to the usual rules that require attendees to be in view throughout the session.

After the application was denied, Ms. Braverman opted to take the points and pay the fine for going over the limit in a 50 mph zone.

Mirror reported that a senior aide to Ms. Braverman had repeatedly denied that she had been arrested for speeding.

The aide said: ‘There’s nothing like that’, when asked on April 4 whether the Home Secretary had been fined for the traffic offence.

Her colleagues accused her of trying to avoid the negative publicity the case would have attracted.

A source said: “It seems his first instinct was an attempt to cover up the fact that he had a speeding ticket.”

Other sources said Ms Braverman opted to take the points because she was “too busy” to take the course in her new role. They said she was also concerned about the increase in her insurance premium as a result of taking the points.

A source close to the Home Secretary said: ‘Mrs Braverman accepted three points for a speeding offense which took place last summer. The Cabinet Office was notified of this, as requested by Ms. Braverman. She was not and is not disabled to drive.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “As Home Secretary Suella Braverman is responsible for enforcing the law, however this report suggests she tried to abuse her position to circumvent normal rules, so which is one rule for her and another for everyone else”. ‘

Deputy Labor leader Angela Rayner said in a letter to the prime minister on Sunday that: “Any attempt to order civil servants to get special treatment on this matter would clearly amount to an abuse of power and unacceptable privilege by the minister. inland”.

Ms Rayner demanded that the Prime Minister investigate the matter “without further delay” and said the public had a “right to know” whether the Home Secretary had abused her position.

Ms Braverman becomes the third Home Office Minister in recent months to have committed a traffic offence.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick was handed a six-month driving ban and fine last month after he was caught speeding on the M1, while Security Minister Tom Tugendhat was suspended for the year. spent six months after pleading guilty to using his phone while driving.

The Home Office is responsible for police, speeding violations and penalty notifications.