Karin Smyth – MP for Bristol – has called on the new Prime Minister to outline why Suella Braverman MP was reappointed as Home Secretary just six days after being fired for breaching security protocols.
The resignation of Liz Truss MP after 44 days as Prime Minister created the need for the Conservative Party to once again turn inwards and select a new leader, and by extension Prime Minister. 357 Conservative MPs were the electorate for this process. It was planned to then go the Tory membership, but ultimately all candidates dropped out of the contest except Rishi Sunak MP.
Rishi Sunak, Member of Parliament for Richmond, Yorkshire, was Chancellor of the Exchequer under Boris Johnson MP until he resigned in July of this year. He is the first British-Asian to become Prime Minister and has only been an MP since 2015.
The new Prime Minister went about appointing a Cabinet following the request by His Majesty the King to form a government. This saw Dominic Raab MP return as Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister; Simon Hart MP return to Cabinet as Chief Whip; Suella Braverman MP returning as Home Secretary just six days after resigning for breaching security protocols and Michael Gove MP returning as Levelling Up Secretary just 44 days after leaving the post.
Karin Smyth, MP for Bristol South, said:
“The new Prime Minister has reverted to Tory type. The appointment of Suella Braverman to Home Secretary just six days after her resignation due to serious security breaches means serious questions must be answered regarding her appointment.
“The Prime Minister promised integrity on the steps of Downing Street, but instead has seemingly undertaken grubby deals to secure his premiership. We cannot forget that Rishi Sunak was also fined for attending parties in Number 10 alongside Boris Johnson. Standards are an afterthought to the current Tory Government.
“Other appointments to Cabinet show a party that has run out of ideas. Dominic Raab returns as Justice Secretary. This beggars belief as under his watch some courts had average waiting times of 426 days for a trial. That’s on top of the shocking statistic that only 1.3% of rape cases are now being prosecuted. We don’t need another Tory Prime Minister selected behind closed doors; we need a General Election. We need a Labour Government.”