Security and intelligence services at home and abroad may be reluctant to share sensitive information with Suella Braverman after her controversial reappointment as Home Secretary, Labour former Cabinet minister Lord Blunkett has warned. A senior church leader has also questioned whether it was "wise" to bring her back into office so rapidly, given concerns about her suitability to the role.
Responding to the criticism in Parliament, Cabinet Office minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe insisted that Ms Braverman "deserves another chance" just days after she was forced to quit over a security breach. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak brought Ms Braverman back into the Cabinet despite her resignation after she was caught sending a Tory backbencher a sensitive document from a personal email account.
The row over her reappointment to the leading position has been fuelled by further claims about Ms Braverman's conduct and led to demands for an inquiry into the allegations. Speaking at Westminster, Lord Blunkett, who himself served as home secretary under former prime minister Tony Blair, said: "Isn't it true there could be two really unfortunate outcomes to the reappointment of the current Home Secretary?
"One is that the security and intelligence services will be reluctant to provide the briefings and the openness needed. The second is that other international security agencies will be reluctant to share with us if they are fearful that their information will be passed out of Government itself."
Replying for the Government, Lady Neville-Rolfe said: "Ministers receive the security briefing, as he knows, that they need to do their job in an appropriate manner." Defending Ms Braverman's reappointment, the minister told peers: "She brings experience and talents to the job.
"She apologised, she acknowledged her mistake. That was dealt with by the previous Prime Minister and you have to allow us to look forward."
She added: "Ms Braverman wrote a letter to the (then) prime minister. She set out why she was resigning.
"She resigned in good order and quickly. She deserves another chance."
Raising his concerns in the Lords, the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Paul Butler, said: "The question in my mind is, even if all the justifications were correct and I think there are big questions about that, was it wise in seeking to offer integrity and leadership to appoint someone so rapidly, who has raised so many questions about whether or not she was suitable to hold the office?"
Lady Neville-Rolfe said: "Ms Braverman apologised. She resigned from a great office of state.
"She accepted the remedies of the ministerial code, things then moved on at great speed. We have different circumstances."
