Jamie Stone says 'apology is not enough' as heat rises on Home Secretary Suella Braverman

Far north MP Jamie Stone has criticised the return of Suella Braverman to the role of Home Secretary under Rishi Sunak's new UK government.

Braverman was ousted from the same role under Liz Truss just a few weeks ago after she admitted breaking the ministerial code by sharing sensitive Home Office information using an unsecure personal email address.

But Mr Sunak reappointed her to the same position after he was appointed the new Conservative party leader and new Prime Minister.

An Urgent Question was raised in parliament on Wednesday that read: "To ask the Home Secretary to make a statement on her resignation and reappointment as Home Secretary". Braverman did not appear personally to answer the question. Jeremy Quin, a Cabinet Office minister, was sent to answer instead.

Mr Quin claimed that an apology was the appropriate response in this case and Braverman's reappointment was totally justifiable. The Cabinet Office minister also said that it was the "intention" of Mr Sunak to appoint an independent ethics adviser but that it would not be appropriate for the adviser to retroactively look at Ms Braverman’s case.

The response has left many dismayed at the reappointment of the Home Secretary with questions also being raised at Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions by Labour leader Keir Starmer.

Opposition parties have raised concerns about Braverman's fitness for office, on the grounds that the Home Office is in charge of national security.

Mr Stone said: “Suella Braverman’s apology is not enough. Breaking something as important to our standards in public life as the Ministerial Code requires a stronger sanction than a half-hearted apology and a week-long hiatus from the job.

“This disregard for ethics and any level of decency is a hangover from the Johnson days and the Conservative party simply cannot shake the rotten culture that he embedded. Rishi Sunak has said that it is his intention to finally reappoint an ethics advisor, my only hope is that he does so quickly because attitudes to public office as improper as this cannot be allowed to fester.

“What is needed is an inquiry. An inquiry to ascertain what was leaked, who it was leaked to and why it was leaked. The Home Secretary is in charge of our national security and if she cannot be trusted with sensitive information the public has a right to know. This needs to be acted on fast to reassure the public that their security services are functioning properly and not potentially compromised."

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