A cabinet minister has been forced to defend the Home Secretary Priti Patel over accusations she is avoiding scrutiny.
Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary, insisted there was no “issue” with Ms Patel and she was “100% engaged” in the fight against coronavirus.
Ms Patel has yet to chair any of the government’s daily press conferences on the battle against the global pandemic, unlike other senior members of the Cabinet.
Download the new Independent Premium app
Sharing the full story, not just the headlines
A furious row has also erupted between Ms Patel and a senior backbencher over calls for the Home Secretary to appear before MPs.
Ms Patel has accused Yvette Cooper, the chair of the Home Affairs Committee, of taking an “adversarial” approach by demanding she appears before MPs investigating her department’s response to Covid-19.
1/50 8 April 2020
A street cleaner in front of Coronavirus messaging on Picadilly Circus in London
Getty
2/50 7 April 2020
A jogger on the Millennium Bridge in London, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
3/50 6 April 2020
A Royal Signals soldier practices during training held by the British Army. They are preparing them to support the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust in the battle against coronavirus
Ministry of Defence/Reuters
4/50 5 April 2020
A police officer advises a woman to go home after spotting her enjoying the sun in Primrose Hill, London
AP
5/50 4 March 2020
New Leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer speaks on the announcement of his victory in the leadership race of the Labour Party
AFP via Getty
6/50 3 April 2020
Health Secretary Matt Hancock and NHS staff stand on marks on the ground, put in place to ensure social distancing guidelines are adhered to, at the opening of the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel centre in London, a temporary hospital with 4000 beds which has been set up for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday April 3, 2020. Split into more than 80 wards containing 42 beds each, the facility will be used to treat Covid-19 patients who have been transferred from other intensive care units across London.
PA
7/50 2 April 2020
A child at Westlands Primary School paints a poster in support of the NHS in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Reuters
8/50 1 April 2020
Staff wearing PPE of gloves and face masks, as a preactionary measure against Covid-19, disinfect an ambulance after it arrived with a patient at St Thomas’ Hospital in north London
AFP via Getty
9/50 31 March 2020
Llandudno Pier remains closed and deserted of tourists during the pandemic lockdown in Wales
Getty
10/50 30 March 2020
Waves break against the pier at Tynemouth, on the North East coast
PA
11/50 29 March 2020
Waves crash over a car on the seafront during windy conditions in Broadstairs, Kent
PA
12/50 28 March 2020
Derbyshire Police dye the “blue lagoon” in Harpur Hill, Buxton black, as gatherings there are “dangerous” and are “in contravention of the current instruction of the UK Government”
PA
13/50 27 March 2020
A road sign advising drivers to ‘stay home protect NHS saves lives’ is visible on the M80 near Banknock as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
14/50 26 March 2020
A postman wears a mask and gloves to deliver letters in Broadstairs, Kent, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson has put the UK in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. PA Photo. Picture date: Thursday March 26, 2020. The UK’s coronavirus death toll reached 463 on Wednesday.
PA
15/50 25 March 2020
Members of the public out exercising on Brighton beach at sunset
Getty
16/50 24 March 2020
Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas’ hospital
Getty
17/50 23 March 2020
Commuters travel on the London underground during the Coronavirus pandemic
Getty
18/50 22 March 2020
People walk on the seafront after recent incidents of members of the public ignoring government advice on social distancing on in Hove
Getty
19/50 21 March 2020
A general view of an empty Trafalgar Square in London. There have as of now been 3,983 diagnosed coronavirus cases in the UK and 177 deaths
Getty
20/50 20 March 2020
Swans swim on the banks of the River Severn in Worcester
PA
21/50 19 March 2020
A piece of art by the artist, known as the Rebel Bear has appeared on a wall on Bank Street in Glasgow. The new addition to Glasgow’s street art is capturing the global Coronavirus crisis. The piece features a woman and a man pulling back to give each other a kiss
PA
22/50 18 March 2020
Students tend to Spring Lambs at Moreton Morrell College in Warwickshire
PA
23/50 17 March 2020
Caerphilly Castle in South Wales joins Tourism Ireland’s Global Greenings campaign to mark St Patrick’s Day
PA
24/50 16 March 2020
Shoppers form long queues ahead of the opening of a Costco wholesale store in Chingford
Getty
25/50 15 March 2020
Players sing songs in the changing room after their game of football at Hackney Marshes in London
Reuters
26/50 14 March 2020
Empty shelves in the laundry aisle of an Asda store in London
PA
27/50 13 March 2020
Runners and riders compete in the JCB Triumph Hurdle during day four of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. Thousands of people attended where Gold Cup day amid great uncertainty as sports events up and down the United Kingdom are postponed and cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak
PA Images via Reuters Connect
28/50 12 March 2020
A worker makes her way along rows of daffodils, removing any rogue varieties, at Taylors Bulbs in Holbeach, Lincolnshire. The fourth generation family company plant over 35 million bulbs every year, and have held The Royal Warrant as Bulb Growers to Her Majesty The Queen since 1985
PA
29/50 11 March 2020
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak poses for pictures with the Budget Box outside 11 Downing Street ahead of Britain’s first post-Brexit budget
AFP/Getty
30/50 10 March 2020
A Tate Modern gallery assistant interacts with the ‘Silver Clouds’ installation, at a press view of major new Andy Warhol exhibition at Tate Modern, which features classic pop art pieces and works never shown before in the UK
PA
31/50 9 March 2020
The Sub Dean and Canon Paster of Southwark, Canon Michael Rawson, left, blesses the statue of Santa Barbara and workers on one of the sites of the Thames Tideway Tunnel in London. Santa Barbara is the patron saint of tunnellers and by tradition a statue and shrine to her is placed at tunnel portals and the entrance to long tunnel headings to keep workers safe while underground. The 16 mile-long Thames Tideway Tunnel will prevent tens of millions of tonnes of sewage and rainwater run-off entering the river every year
PA
32/50 8 March 2020
An Afghan Hound dog is prepared for show at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre (NEC) during the final day of the Crufts Dog Show
PA
33/50 7 March 2020
People taking part in the Million Women Rise march through central London, to demand an end to male violence against women and girls in all its forms
PA
34/50 6 March 2020
Crew members take a selfie beside the cab of The Flying Scotswoman, the LNER Edinburgh to London rail service which has an all-female crew to celebrate International Women’s Day, before it departs Edinburgh Waverley station
PA
35/50 5 March 2020
A poodle arrives for the first day of Crufts 2020 in Birmingham
Jason Skarratt/Flick.digital
36/50 4 March 2020
An Emergency Department Nurse during a demonstration of the Coronavirus pod and Covid-19 virus testing procedures set-up beside the Emergency Department of Antrim Area Hospital in Northern Ireland
PA
37/50 3 March 2020
A pedestrian wears a protective facemask while taking a bus in Westminster, London, on the day that Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK has risen to 51
PA
38/50 2 March 2020
An artist at Madame Tussauds in London fits the museum’s waxwork of Prime Minister Boris Johnson with a baby carrier, following the recent announcement that he is expecting a baby with partner Carrie Symonds
PA
39/50 1 March 2020
A man dressed as Dewi Sant leads the St David’s day parade in Cardiff, where hundreds of people march through the city in celebration of the patron saint of Wales. Dewi Sant (Saint David in English) was the Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century
PA
40/50 29 February 2020
A home flooded after the River Aire burst its banks in East Cowick, East Yorkshire
Getty
41/50 28 February 2020
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg takes part in a “Youth Strike 4 Climate” protest march in Bristol, south west England. “Activism works, so I ask you to act,” she said
AFP/Getty
42/50 27 February 2020
Campaigners cheer outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London after they won a Court of Appeal challenge against controversial plans for a third runway at Heathrow
PA
43/50 26 February 2020
Temporary barriers have been overwhelmed by flood water in Bewdley, Shropshire
Getty
44/50 25 February 2020
Players take part in the Atherstone Ball Game in Warwickshire. The game honours a match played between Leicestershire and Warwickshire in 1199, when teams used a bag of gold as a ball, and which was won by Warwickshire
PA
45/50 24 February 2020
A couple shelter from waves crashing over the promenade in Folkestone, Kent, as bad weather continues to cause problems across the country
PA
46/50 23 February 2020
Viking re-enactors during the Jorvik Viking Festival in York, recognised as the largest event of its kind in Europe
PA
47/50 22 February 2020
Former Greek Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and editor in chief of WikiLeaks Kristinn Hrafnsonn attend a protest against the extradition of Julian Assange outside the Australian High Commission in London
Reuters
48/50 21 February 2020
A worker recovers stranded vehicles from flood water on the A761 in Paisley, Scotland
Getty
49/50 20 February 2020
Police officers outside Regents Park mosque in central London after a man was reportedly been stabbed in the neck. Footage from the scene showed a young white man in a red hooded top being led from the mosque by police
Reuters
50/50 19 February 2020
Floodwaters surround Upton upon Seven following Storm Dennis
Getty
1/50 8 April 2020
A street cleaner in front of Coronavirus messaging on Picadilly Circus in London
Getty
2/50 7 April 2020
A jogger on the Millennium Bridge in London, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
3/50 6 April 2020
A Royal Signals soldier practices during training held by the British Army. They are preparing them to support the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust in the battle against coronavirus
Ministry of Defence/Reuters
4/50 5 April 2020
A police officer advises a woman to go home after spotting her enjoying the sun in Primrose Hill, London
AP
5/50 4 March 2020
New Leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer speaks on the announcement of his victory in the leadership race of the Labour Party
AFP via Getty
6/50 3 April 2020
Health Secretary Matt Hancock and NHS staff stand on marks on the ground, put in place to ensure social distancing guidelines are adhered to, at the opening of the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel centre in London, a temporary hospital with 4000 beds which has been set up for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday April 3, 2020. Split into more than 80 wards containing 42 beds each, the facility will be used to treat Covid-19 patients who have been transferred from other intensive care units across London.
PA
7/50 2 April 2020
A child at Westlands Primary School paints a poster in support of the NHS in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Reuters
8/50 1 April 2020
Staff wearing PPE of gloves and face masks, as a preactionary measure against Covid-19, disinfect an ambulance after it arrived with a patient at St Thomas’ Hospital in north London
AFP via Getty
9/50 31 March 2020
Llandudno Pier remains closed and deserted of tourists during the pandemic lockdown in Wales
Getty
10/50 30 March 2020
Waves break against the pier at Tynemouth, on the North East coast
PA
11/50 29 March 2020
Waves crash over a car on the seafront during windy conditions in Broadstairs, Kent
PA
12/50 28 March 2020
Derbyshire Police dye the “blue lagoon” in Harpur Hill, Buxton black, as gatherings there are “dangerous” and are “in contravention of the current instruction of the UK Government”
PA
13/50 27 March 2020
A road sign advising drivers to ‘stay home protect NHS saves lives’ is visible on the M80 near Banknock as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
14/50 26 March 2020
A postman wears a mask and gloves to deliver letters in Broadstairs, Kent, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson has put the UK in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. PA Photo. Picture date: Thursday March 26, 2020. The UK’s coronavirus death toll reached 463 on Wednesday.
PA
15/50 25 March 2020
Members of the public out exercising on Brighton beach at sunset
Getty
16/50 24 March 2020
Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas’ hospital
Getty
17/50 23 March 2020
Commuters travel on the London underground during the Coronavirus pandemic
Getty
18/50 22 March 2020
People walk on the seafront after recent incidents of members of the public ignoring government advice on social distancing on in Hove
Getty
19/50 21 March 2020
A general view of an empty Trafalgar Square in London. There have as of now been 3,983 diagnosed coronavirus cases in the UK and 177 deaths
Getty
20/50 20 March 2020
Swans swim on the banks of the River Severn in Worcester
PA
21/50 19 March 2020
A piece of art by the artist, known as the Rebel Bear has appeared on a wall on Bank Street in Glasgow. The new addition to Glasgow’s street art is capturing the global Coronavirus crisis. The piece features a woman and a man pulling back to give each other a kiss
PA
22/50 18 March 2020
Students tend to Spring Lambs at Moreton Morrell College in Warwickshire
PA
23/50 17 March 2020
Caerphilly Castle in South Wales joins Tourism Ireland’s Global Greenings campaign to mark St Patrick’s Day
PA
24/50 16 March 2020
Shoppers form long queues ahead of the opening of a Costco wholesale store in Chingford
Getty
25/50 15 March 2020
Players sing songs in the changing room after their game of football at Hackney Marshes in London
Reuters
26/50 14 March 2020
Empty shelves in the laundry aisle of an Asda store in London
PA
27/50 13 March 2020
Runners and riders compete in the JCB Triumph Hurdle during day four of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. Thousands of people attended where Gold Cup day amid great uncertainty as sports events up and down the United Kingdom are postponed and cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak
PA Images via Reuters Connect
28/50 12 March 2020
A worker makes her way along rows of daffodils, removing any rogue varieties, at Taylors Bulbs in Holbeach, Lincolnshire. The fourth generation family company plant over 35 million bulbs every year, and have held The Royal Warrant as Bulb Growers to Her Majesty The Queen since 1985
PA
29/50 11 March 2020
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak poses for pictures with the Budget Box outside 11 Downing Street ahead of Britain’s first post-Brexit budget
AFP/Getty
30/50 10 March 2020
A Tate Modern gallery assistant interacts with the ‘Silver Clouds’ installation, at a press view of major new Andy Warhol exhibition at Tate Modern, which features classic pop art pieces and works never shown before in the UK
PA
31/50 9 March 2020
The Sub Dean and Canon Paster of Southwark, Canon Michael Rawson, left, blesses the statue of Santa Barbara and workers on one of the sites of the Thames Tideway Tunnel in London. Santa Barbara is the patron saint of tunnellers and by tradition a statue and shrine to her is placed at tunnel portals and the entrance to long tunnel headings to keep workers safe while underground. The 16 mile-long Thames Tideway Tunnel will prevent tens of millions of tonnes of sewage and rainwater run-off entering the river every year
PA
32/50 8 March 2020
An Afghan Hound dog is prepared for show at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre (NEC) during the final day of the Crufts Dog Show
PA
33/50 7 March 2020
People taking part in the Million Women Rise march through central London, to demand an end to male violence against women and girls in all its forms
PA
34/50 6 March 2020
Crew members take a selfie beside the cab of The Flying Scotswoman, the LNER Edinburgh to London rail service which has an all-female crew to celebrate International Women’s Day, before it departs Edinburgh Waverley station
PA
35/50 5 March 2020
A poodle arrives for the first day of Crufts 2020 in Birmingham
Jason Skarratt/Flick.digital
36/50 4 March 2020
An Emergency Department Nurse during a demonstration of the Coronavirus pod and Covid-19 virus testing procedures set-up beside the Emergency Department of Antrim Area Hospital in Northern Ireland
PA
37/50 3 March 2020
A pedestrian wears a protective facemask while taking a bus in Westminster, London, on the day that Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK has risen to 51
PA
38/50 2 March 2020
An artist at Madame Tussauds in London fits the museum’s waxwork of Prime Minister Boris Johnson with a baby carrier, following the recent announcement that he is expecting a baby with partner Carrie Symonds
PA
39/50 1 March 2020
A man dressed as Dewi Sant leads the St David’s day parade in Cardiff, where hundreds of people march through the city in celebration of the patron saint of Wales. Dewi Sant (Saint David in English) was the Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century
PA
40/50 29 February 2020
A home flooded after the River Aire burst its banks in East Cowick, East Yorkshire
Getty
41/50 28 February 2020
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg takes part in a “Youth Strike 4 Climate” protest march in Bristol, south west England. “Activism works, so I ask you to act,” she said
AFP/Getty
42/50 27 February 2020
Campaigners cheer outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London after they won a Court of Appeal challenge against controversial plans for a third runway at Heathrow
PA
43/50 26 February 2020
Temporary barriers have been overwhelmed by flood water in Bewdley, Shropshire
Getty
44/50 25 February 2020
Players take part in the Atherstone Ball Game in Warwickshire. The game honours a match played between Leicestershire and Warwickshire in 1199, when teams used a bag of gold as a ball, and which was won by Warwickshire
PA
45/50 24 February 2020
A couple shelter from waves crashing over the promenade in Folkestone, Kent, as bad weather continues to cause problems across the country
PA
46/50 23 February 2020
Viking re-enactors during the Jorvik Viking Festival in York, recognised as the largest event of its kind in Europe
PA
47/50 22 February 2020
Former Greek Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and editor in chief of WikiLeaks Kristinn Hrafnsonn attend a protest against the extradition of Julian Assange outside the Australian High Commission in London
Reuters
48/50 21 February 2020
A worker recovers stranded vehicles from flood water on the A761 in Paisley, Scotland
Getty
49/50 20 February 2020
Police officers outside Regents Park mosque in central London after a man was reportedly been stabbed in the neck. Footage from the scene showed a young white man in a red hooded top being led from the mosque by police
Reuters
50/50 19 February 2020
Floodwaters surround Upton upon Seven following Storm Dennis
Getty
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Dowden said: “I really can assure you the Home Secretary is across all of this and is engaged on an hour-by-hour and day-by-day basis. I see this every day myself.
“She’s 100% engaged.
“She’s in the Home Office pretty much every day, as far as I know, that’s where I’ve seen her every day.
“I really don’t think there’s an issue with respect to the Home Secretary.”
Ms Cooper wrote to the Home Secretary on 6 March requesting she appear before the Home Affairs committee.
In a follow-up letter on 20 March she said she had “received no response” from Ms Patel.
It was “urgent and essential that we hear from you … on the departmental response to and preparations for coronavirus,” she added.
“As the government has stated: this is the biggest crisis the country has faced in our lifetimes.”
The latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox
A third letter on 3 April stated that any response from Ms Patel had not “yet been forthcoming”.
In a reply sent this week, Ms Patel accused the Labour MP of ignoring offers of updates from other ministers in the Home Office and from civil servants.
Ms Patel said: “I am disappointed at the increasingly adversarial tone of our exchanges and I am very sorry that you have declined my offer of regular briefings with officials and ministers at the Home Office.”
She said she was committed to transparency but was “conscious of the need to give Home Office members of staff the time and space they need to carry out their essential duty of keeping the British public safe during this national crisis,” and offered a date towards the end of this month.
That was rejected by Ms Cooper, however, who said the delay would leave urgent questions unanswered for too long.
Ms Patel came under scrutiny earlier this year when the most senior civil servant in her department dramatically quit, amid allegations he was the victim of a bullying campaign by allies of the Home Secretary.
The Cabinet Office is currently carrying out an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Sir Philip Rutnam’s exit.
