Michael Gove insists Suella Braverman is ‘first-rate politician’ as pressure mounts over reappointment
Michael Gove has defended cabinet colleague Suella Braverman’s controversial reappointment, describing her as a “first-rate, front-rank politician”.
Ms Braverman was forced to resign from Liz Truss’s government after she sent an official document from her personal email to a fellow MP and copied in another MP by mistake.
New Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under growing pressure over reinstating her as home secretary just six days later, after a former party chair claimed she had committed “multiple breaches” of the ministerial code.
Suella Braverman in Downing Street
Mr Gove told Sophy Ridge on Sunday that Ms Braverman was a “valued member of the cabinet” who “acknowledged a mistake had been made”.
“Suella is a first-rate, front-rank politician,” he said.
“She acknowledged that a mistake had been made. She is working hard in order to ensure that our borders can be made more secure, and that policing is more effective.
“She’s a valued member of the cabinet and someone whom I admire and like.”
Mr Gove, the levelling up secretary, also dismissed a report that Ms Braverman ignored legal advice over the situation at Manston, the migrant processing centre in Kent where conditions have been described as “wretched”.
According to the Sunday Times, the home secretary has been warned that detaining asylum seekers there for long periods of time was breaking the law.
Mr Gove said Ms Braverman “did not ignore or dismiss” legal advice.
But he acknowledged the situation at Manston “is not perfect”, adding: “It’s absolutely vital that we process people as quickly as possible and keep them in humane conditions”.
Mr Gove was also asked about a report in the Mail on Sunday which alleges Liz Truss’s phone was hacked by suspected Russian agents while she was foreign secretary – and that then-prime minister Boris Johnson had covered it up.
He said the government “takes cyber security incredibly seriously” and has “very robust protocols”.
‘Chaos, confusion and irresponsible decision making’
However, Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has said the government does not have a grip on national security.
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Labour calls for ‘proper answers’ over Braverman
She questioned whether the phone hacking story had been leaked “to distract from other issues”, and said the person who ought to be “providing reassurance” is Ms Braverman, but “she can’t do that because she’s still unable to answer those serious questions about her own security breaches and lapses”.
Labour has been urging the government to publish its assessments of Ms Braverman’s security breach, with leader Sir Keir Starmer accusing Mr Sunak of brokering a “grubby deal trading security for support” in the Tory leadership contest, which he won after receiving Ms Braverman’s backing.
On Ms Braverman’s reappointment, Ms Cooper told Sophy Ridge: “We have to have proper answers about whether or not this was the first security breach.
“We think that the papers and the warnings that were provided by the Cabinet Office and by the Cabinet Secretary to the prime minister should be sent to the Intelligence and Security Committee.”
Ms Cooper said Labour have been “asking repeatedly” whether the home secretary has used her personal phone to send other government documents.
She said: “There’s also questions about whether she was investigated for other security leaks, including around a case involving security service, and around a case involving sensitive legal advice around Northern Ireland.”
Ms Cooper said this “is just irresponsible”, adding: “You can’t have a home secretary who is not trusted by the security service, who is not trusted with important government information.
“National security it too important for this chaos confusion and irresponsible decision making”.
An amber warning has been issued for snow in a part of the UK, likely to cause travel delays and “stranding some vehicles and passengers”.
The warning, which covers south west England, also warns some rural communities could become cut off and is in place until 2pm this evening.
Pic: Met Office
There is also a yellow weather warning for snow covering the southern counties of England until midnight on Wednesday.
The warning stretches from Kent to Cornwall and up to south London and the Met Office said between 2cm and 5cm of snow could accumulate fairly widely, with as much as 10cm over higher ground.
This week is expected to see the coldest nights of the year, with temperatures potentially reaching -14C on Wednesday night and -16C on Thursday night, both in the North East of England and Scotland, the Met Office said.
Weather warnings issued on Tuesday for snow and ice covering the parts of Wales, the North West of England, west and northern parts of Scotland as well as Northern Ireland will remain in place until midnight tomorrow.
The forecaster said some roads and railways are likely to be affected and there could be icy patches on untreated roads.
Pics: AP
Meanwhile the Environment Agency has said at least 300 properties have flooded across England since New Year’s Eve. It estimates more than 41,000 properties have been protected.
Heavy rainfall over the New Year caused significant river and surface water flooding across the North West of England and Yorkshire and snowmelt has brought further disruption to parts of England, particularly the Midlands, the agency said.
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Man says flooding ‘came out of nowhere’
Floods minister Emma Hardy said: “My sympathies go out to the people, businesses and communities impacted by the recent flooding across the country.
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks for the vital work that the Environment Agency and emergency services are doing to keep people safe. People must continue to follow their advice and sign up for flood warnings.”
Flood warnings
Some 100 flood warnings were in force across England on Wednesday, with people urged to remain vigilant over the coming days.
A danger-to-life warning was issued on Tuesday morning for the River Soar near Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, but was later removed.
People living in caravan parks in the area were urged by the Environment Agency to act, with a large-scale evacuation needed to save lives.
Firefighters have rescued dozens of people across Leicestershire since Monday, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said.
Hundreds of schools were closed across the UK, with road and rail links blocked, as Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool John Lennon airports suspended flights because of the conditions.
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