LONDON — Rishi Sunak has decided not to order his ethics adviser to look into a top minister’s controversial handling of a speeding offense after she apologized.
In a letter to Home Secretary Suella Braverman Wednesday, the U.K. prime minister said he had been advised that “further investigation is not necessary,” after days of media and opposition focus on her conduct.
Braverman asked civil servants to try and arrange a one-on-one driving awareness course after she was caught speeding last year. In the U.K., people who have broken the speed limit can opt to attend a course rather than pay a fine — but these are usually run as group sessions.
A private course could therefore have reduced the likelihood of other motorists recognizing the senior minister in a public session.
Critics charged that Braverman – who ended up accepting a fine and penalty points on her license — had made an inappropriate request of officials, who are not supposed to use their office for a minister’s private gain.
The Labour Party urged Sunak to get Laurie Magnus, the prime minister’s independent adviser on ministerial interests, to look into the matter.
But, in his letter to Braverman Wednesday, Sunak said: “I have consulted with my Independent Adviser. He has advised that on this occasion further investigation is not necessary and I have accepted that advice. On the basis of your letter and our discussion, my decision is that these matters do not amount to a breach of the Ministerial Code.”
He added: “As you have recognized, a better course of action could have been taken to avoid giving rise to the perception of impropriety.
“Nevertheless, I am reassured you take these matters seriously. You have provided a thorough account, apologized and expressed regret.”
‘Would have chosen a different course of action’
Braverman is seen as a key figure on the right of the Conservative Party, and allies of the home secretary on the Tory backbenches have portrayed the past few days’ of scrutiny as a sign the civil service machine — meant to be impartial — is skewed against them. Braverman is also likely to face pressure this week over rising immigration figures.
In her own letter to Sunak, Braverman said she had never “instructed officials” to behave inappropriately and insisted that, in her “interactions with officials,” she had only been seeking clarification of her options. She cited security concerns about attending a public course given her high-profile government role.
Braverman did, however, admit that “faced with a similar situation again” she “would have chosen a different course of action.”
“I sought to explore whether bespoke arrangements were possible, given my personal circumstances as a security-protected minister,” Braverman wrote. “I recognize how some people have construed this as me seeking to avoid sanction — at no point was that the intention or outcome.”
