FORMER Tory chairman Sir Jake Berry has claimed Suella Braverman committed “multiple breaches of the ministerial code” as Rishi Sunak faces a backlash over reinstating her as Home Secretary.
Braverman had admitted to a “technical infringement” of the rules as she was forced out prior to Liz Truss’s resignation.
In the Commons on Wednesday, the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford called for Braverman to be sacked.
Berry, who left his role as party chairman on Tuesday, alleged there had been “multiple breaches” of the code, which sets out how members of the UK Government must behave.
Speaking on TalkTV’s Piers Morgan Uncensored, he said: “From my own knowledge, there were multiple breaches of the ministerial code.”
Braverman left her role in Truss’s cabinet after she was caught sending veteran backbench Tory Sir John Hayes an official document from a personal email account.
She accidentally copied in someone she believed to be Hayes’s wife but was in fact an aide to Conservative MP Andrew Percy, who subsequently raised the alarm.
"From my own knowledge, there were multiple breaches of the ministerial code." Sacked Conservatives chairman Jake Berry addresses Home Secretary Suella Braverman's alleged security breach.@jakeberry | @MrHarryCole | @KateEMcCann | @TalkTV | #PMU pic.twitter.com/GLDNi5mqi0
— Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) October 26, 2022
Braverman argued it was merely a draft written ministerial statement on immigration which had been due for publication imminently.
Allies said she sent it after going on a 4am immigration raid before coming clean about her “mistake”.
One source told the PA news agency that Braverman was “not expecting at all” to be sacked for what happened.
Berry continued: “It was sent from a private email address to another Member of Parliament. She then sought to copy in that individual’s wife and accidentally sent it to a staffer in Parliament.
“To me that seems a really serious breach, especially when it was documents relating to cybersecurity, as I believe.
“That seems a really serious breach. The Cabinet Secretary had his say at the time. I doubt he’s changed his mind in the last six days, but that’s a matter for the new Prime Minister.”
Braverman has said she “rapidly reported” her “mistake” through official channels, and informed Cabinet Secretary Simon Case as soon as she realised what had happened.
However, Berry added: “As I understand it, the evidence was put to her and she accepted the evidence, rather than the other way round.”
Blackford re-tweeted the clip, saying: "At PMQs, I said @RishiSunak should admit his mistake and sack Suella Braverman.
"Her position is untenable. If the Prime Minister keeps her in place to prop up his own position, he’ll send a message that sleazy Tory backroom deals are more important to him than integrity."
Labour have demanded that Case, who is reportedly “livid” over Braverman's swift return and “very concerned” about the breach, launch an investigation “into the extent of this and other possible security breaches”.
