Rishi Sunak 'right to give Suella Braverman a second chance' says Conservative Party chairman

Rishi Sunak is right to give Home Secretary Suella Braverman a “second chance”, Conservative Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi has said.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman, leaves Downing Street, Westminster, London, after the first Cabinet meeting with Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister. Picture date: Wednesday October 26, 2022.

The Prime Minister was already fielding criticism over reinstating Suella Braverman as Home Secretary as he tore up his predecessor’s growth plan and delayed the highly-anticipated autumn budget in his first full day in the top job.

Opposition leaders have led calls for an official inquiry into Ms Braverman breaking the ministerial code by sharing a sensitive document with a Tory backbencher from a personal email. She accidentally copied in someone she believed was Sir John’s wife, but was in fact an aide to Conservative MP Andrew Percy, who raised the alarm. Ms Braverman argued it was merely a draft written ministerial statement on immigration which had been due for publication imminently.

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The Home Secretary admitted to a “technical infringement” of the rules as she was forced out prior to the former PM’s downfall, making her then the shortest-serving home secretary in history – but she has since been reinstated after 6 days by Rishi Sunak.

The Conservative Party chairman has defended the move from Rishi Sunak saying that it was the correct decision and that “redemption is a good thing”.

Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News: “She admitted her mistake, she resigned. A new Prime Minister came in, looked at the information and decided that he wants to give her a second chance. It think that is the right decision. Redemption is a good thing.”

Mr Zahawi refused to be drawn on reports that officials, including the Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, expressed concern about her reappointment so soon after her resignation.

“Officials raise concerns and raise points with secretaries of state, with ministers, all the time. I think they should be allowed to do that,” he said.

Sunak also reimposed the fracking ban in England that was controversially scrapped by Ms Truss, and was reviewing key spending commitments, including on increasing state pensions in line with soaring inflation, in a major overhaul of Government strategy.

Opposition parties have expressed concern about the breach, with Labour calling for an investigation to be launched “into the extent of this and other possible security breaches”.