UK PM Sunak Says Interior Minister Will Not Face Further Investigation Following Handling of Speeding Offense

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said interior minister Suella Braverman’s handling of a speeding fine did not violate the ministerial code. Sunak said Braverman would not be facing a further investigation.

In a letter to Braverman on Wednesday, Sunak said that her actions did not breach the ministerial code and that no further investigation would be taken into the minister’s handling of a speeding offense. Sunak’s decision came four days after the Sunday Times reported that Braverman had asked government officials to help arrange for a private driving awareness course to prevent her speeding violation from getting publicized.

Braverman said in her letter to Sunak that she could have handled the matter differently, but she was not trying to avoid getting penalized. Braverman said she asked officials whether the driving awareness course was appropriate as she was considered a “protected person” and that she lacked a “familiarity with protocol.” Braverman also said she stopped discussing the matter when officials told her that it was not appropriate.

“My decision is that these matters do not amount to a breach of the Ministerial Code,” said Sunak in the letter. “As you have recognized, a better course of action could have been taken to avoid giving rise to the perception of impropriety.”

This also follows calls by opposition parties to investigate Braverman to determine whether she breached the Ministerial Code over her handling of the incident. Ministers are usually not allowed to use government officials to help in their personal affairs.

On the same day, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson cut ties with his government-appointed lawyers following his referral to the police by the Cabinet Office after finding more instances that Johnson potentially broke COVID-19 lockdown rules. The Cabinet Office made the referral on Tuesday as it was preparing submissions to present to the public inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic.

Johnson told the chair of the COVID inquiry that “as of today, I am unrepresented” and that he was seeking new lawyers to represent him in the matter, but did not cite the reason why he decided to cut ties with the appointed lawyers.

Photo: Simon Dawson (No. 10 Downing Street)/Wikimedia Commons(CC by 2.0)