Suella Braverman insists 'nothing untoward' over speeding awareness course
The home secretary did not directly deny that she asked civil servants for assistance after she was caught for speeding.
Tuesday 23 May 2023 02:51, UK
Suella Braverman said she is confident "nothing untoward happened" over her handling of a speeding offence amid growing pressure on the prime minister to open an investigation.
The home secretary is facing questions over reports she asked officials to arrange a private one-to-one speed awareness course after she was caught speeding last summer.
In her first public comments on the row, Ms Braverman did not deny asking civil servants to intervene.
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"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," she told broadcasters.
Asked whether she would welcome an investigation into her behaviour, the home secretary replied by saying she would "appreciate the focus on an announcement which is standing up for victims and survivors".
"In relation to the speeding tickets in my fine and points, I'm very confident nothing untoward happened."
Rishi Sunak has faced calls to discipline Ms Braverman, with opposition parties calling him "weak" and accusing her of breaching the ministerial code.
The prime minister has spoken to the home secretary as well as his ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, about the row but as of yet no official inquiry has been launched.
Speaking in the Commons on his return from the G7 summit, Mr Sunak said he has "asked for further information and will update on the appropriate course of action in due course".
"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," he told MPs.
Earlier, the prime minister's official spokesman said Mr Sunak had "full confidence" in the home secretary and "they continue to work closely on public priorities".
But Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said while Ms 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".
"The prime minister must order an ethics investigation to get to the bottom of this. We've had 13 years of the Tories defending themselves and their mates. Enough is enough," she said.
The claims against Ms Braverman broke in the The Sunday Times over the weekend while the prime minister was at the G7 summit in Japan.
The newspaper reported that instead of signing up for an in-person course with other motorists, or completing one online that would show her name and face to other participants, Ms Braverman allegedly asked civil servants to arrange a private one-to-one course.
When the civil servants refused, she reportedly sought help from a political aide, who requested the course organiser provided a private session, or allowed her to use an alias or turn her camera off.
The speeding offence took place last year when Mrs Braverman was serving as attorney general.
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Braverman 'thinks she's above the rules'
During a regular session of Home Office questions in the Commons on Monday afternoon, Ms Braverman insisted that "at no point did I attempt to evade sanction".
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But she was accused of failing to answer "basic factual questions on what she said to the civil service and to her special adviser" by shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper.
According to The Daily Mirror, Ms Braverman's special adviser repeatedly denied she had been caught speeding when a reporter from the newspaper put the suggestion to them last month.
Ms Cooper asked Ms Braverman whether "she authorised her special adviser to tell journalists that there wasn't a speeding penalty when there was".
"At the heart of the home secretary's responsibility is to ensure that laws are fairly enforced for all. But when she got a speeding penalty, it seems she sought special treatment, a private course and asked civil servants to help," she said.
Referencing Ms Braverman's previous controversies, Ms Cooper said that "time and time again she thinks she's above the rules".
"If she can't get a grip on her own rule-breaking behaviour, how can she get a grip on anything else?"
But Ms Braverman hit back saying the only people who need to "get a grip" are the Labour party as she attacked their stance on immigration.