Cooper: Braverman reappointment to Home Office “same old Tory chaos”

Yvette Cooper has declared that the reappointment of Suella Braverman as Home Secretary is the “same old Tory chaos” and accused Rishi Sunak of making a “grubby deal” to ensure his victory in the Conservative leadership contest.

Braverman resigned as Home Secretary last week over a data breach. Sunak reappointed Braverman on Tuesday as part of a wider reshuffle following his confirmation as the new Prime Minister.

Addressing the Commons today, the Shadow Home Secretary said: “Yesterday, the Prime Minister promised integrity, professionalism and accountability.

“Yet they’ve discarded the ministerial code, reappointed someone who breached core professional standards and has now run away from basic accountability to this House. It is the same old Tory chaos and it is letting the country down.”

Braverman revealed in her resignation letter last week that she had sent an official document from her personal email to a parliamentary colleague. She said the error constituted a “technical infringement” and that it was therefore “right” for her to go.

Cooper said today: “How is anyone supposed to believe she is such a novice that she didn’t know exactly what she was doing? And if she really is that much of a novice, why on earth are the rest of us supposed to trust her with our national security?”

“Everyone knows this was a grubby deal to get a coronation to put party before country. But national security is too important for this,” she added.

Responding to Cooper’s urgent question on behalf of the government, Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin said: “The Home Secretary made an error of judgement. She recognised her mistake. She took responsibility for her actions.”

Quin stressed that ministerial appointments are a matter “solely for the Prime Minster”, adding: “After consideration, the PM has decided, given the apology issued by the Home Secretary, to reappoint her to the government.”

In a letter sent to cabinet secretary Simon Case today, Cooper said it is “vital for the public to have transparency” on the incident that led to Braverman’s resignation, declaring that “there are a series of important questions which remain unanswered”.

Cooper’s letter continued: “If a full investigation has not yet taken place into the extent of this and other possible security breaches, I am urging you and the Home Office to now urgently undertake such an investigation, as the public has a right to know that there are proper secure information procedures in place.”

Asked during Prime Minister’s Questions today whether Braverman was right to have resigned, Sunak said the Home Secretary had “made an error of judgement”, adding: “She recognised that. She raised the matter, and she accepted her mistake.”

Pressed by Keir Starmer on whether officials had raised concerns about Braverman’s reappointment, the Prime Minister claimed that he had “just addressed” the issue.

The Labour leader told MPs: “We can all see what’s happened here. He’s so weak, he’s done a grubby deal, trading national security because he was scared to lose another leadership election.”

Sunak was confirmed as the new Tory Party leader on Monday after rival Penny Mordaunt pulled out of the race, having failed to reach the threshold of 100 endorsements from MPs.

Braverman backed Sunak for the leadership the day before the deadline for endorsements. It is understood that she had been in talks with both Sunak and Boris Johnson’s campaigns – with both attempting to win her support.