Rishi Sunak pointedly refused to back Suella Braverman’s assertions that she had done nothing wrong following her speeding charge last year as he mulls whether to launch an investigation into her actions.
The Prime Minister has demanded the Home Secretary hand him further information around claims she asked civil servants to arrange a private speed awareness course after she was caught speeding.
Mr Sunak must decide whether to launch a full inquiry into whether she may have breached the ministerial code by seeking special dispensation when she was handed a speeding offence last summer.
He held talks with the Cabinet minister and with his independent ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus on Monday in an attempt to ascertain the full facts and if they warranted another ministerial probe.
Fielding questions in the Commons off the back of his visit to Japan for the G7 summit, the Prime Minister told MPs: “I have always been clear that where issues like this are raised, they should be dealt with properly and they should be dealt with professionally.
“Since I have returned from the G7, I have been receiving information on the issues raised, I have met with both the independent adviser and the Home Secretary. I have asked for further information and I will update on the appropriate course of action in due course.”
His comments came after Downing Street refused to endorse comments made repeatedly by Ms Braverman that she had done “nothing untoward” as she fought to keep her job on Monday.
In her first public comments on the row, Ms Braverman did not deny asking civil servants to intervene.
Asked directly if she asked officials to arrange a one-to-one course for her, she told broadcasters: “Last summer, I was speeding. I regret that. I paid the fine and I took the points but we’re focused now on delivering for the British people and working for them.”
Pressed on the same question, she said: “In relation to the process, I’m focused on delivering for the British people, doing my job as Home Secretary and what I will say is that, in my view, I’m confident that nothing untoward has happened.” Ms Braverman then appeared for a regular session of Home Office questions in the Commons, telling MPs: “I paid the fine and I took the penalty and at no point did I attempt to evade sanction.”
No 10 declined to support such assertions that nothing untoward had happened and that she had not sought to evade a sanction.
A spokesman said the Prime Minister “wants to avail himself of all the information before he makes a decision” and “I’m not going to pre-empt that and set out his view before he’s done that”.
But Lord Kerslake, who was head of the civil service from 2011 to 2014, accused the Prime Minister of leading his own “sloppy investigation” instead of properly engaging Sir Laurie.
He told Channel 4 News: “Rishi Sunak needs to properly investigate it through his ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus. We don’t really have the full facts here, and he doesn’t have the full facts.
“He seems to be doing a sort of investigation before an investigation, but it’d be better just to get on with it and get Sir Laurie to undertake the necessary work on it.”
It comes a little over six months after the Home Secretary had previously been forced to resign over a separate breach of the ministerial code during Liz Truss’s short stint in Downing Street.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “While Suella Braverman fails to answer basic questions and gives the impression she has something to hide, Rishi Sunak is once again dithering and delaying rather than taking action over yet another case of misconduct in his crumbling Cabinet.”