Labour will attempt to use a vote in the House of Commons to force Rishi Sunak to reveal what he knew about Suella Braverman’s security lapses when he re-appointed her home secretary.
The prime minister is facing questions about his judgement after he put her in his cabinet just days after she was forced to resign for a breach of the ministerial code.
Since then she has admitted that she sent official government documents to her private email on six different occasions.
There have also been reports that she was the subject of several leak inquiries and the embattled home secretary has also been forced to deny that she disregarded legal advice over overcrowding during the Kent asylum centre crisis.
Labour has demanded Mr Sunak set out what he knew and when, following claims Mr Sunak did a ‘deal’ with Ms Braverman when he secured her vital support for his drive to become PM.
The party’s motion calls on the government to share with parliament, or the Intelligence and Security Committee, the relevant government security and risk assessments, as well as the information given to the prime minister before her reappointment.
The vote comes as Mr Sunak faces further pressure over his reappointment of Sir Gavin Williamson to the cabinet at the same time as Ms Braverman.
Sir Gavin has come under fire in recent days over agreesive messages he sent his own party’s former chief whip.
The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “The public look to the Home Office to keep them, their families, and their communities safe.
“But for Rishi Sunak to reappoint Suella Braverman as home secretary just six days after she broke the ministerial code, against advice and in the light of these further reports about security and code breaches, was just irresponsible. It shows that neither the prime minister nor the home secretary are taking security and public safety seriously enough.
“Reappointing Gavin Williamson to the Cabinet Office which covers cybersecurity and the National Security Council when he was sacked in the past over a security council leak is even more inexplicable and compounds the problem.
“This is why we need to know whether Rishi Sunak even considered questions about security or the ministerial code when making his Cabinet appointments.
“Tory MPs must not vote to hide the answers. Security is too important for a grubby political deal which puts party ahead of country.”
