Did the home secretary breach the ministerial code?
The Independent|May 22, 2023
Labour and the Liberal Democrats are calling for an investigation into claims that Suella Braverman asked civil servants to help her avoid being given points on her driving licence. Opposition parties say the home secretary’s actions may have broken the ministerial code. But did she break the code, and if so, which part?
JON STONE
Did the home secretary breach the ministerial code?

The home secretary is said to have asked civil servants to arrange a private speed-awareness course for her – which would have got her out of both the points and the PR disaster of attending a public class with other lawbreakers. The Sunday Times reports that the officials refused to help and that in the end the home secretary decided to accept the points.

So which parts of the code are relevant? There seem to be a number of sections that the home secretary might be considered to have breached. First, the code commits ministers to upholding the seven Nolan “principles of public life”. These are general principles that apply to everyone who holds public office.

This story is from the May 22, 2023 edition of The Independent.

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This story is from the May 22, 2023 edition of The Independent.

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