Suella Braverman is said to have sought help in avoiding a speeding fine (Picture: Getty)
Rishi Sunak is under pressure to investigate reported claims the Home Secretary asked civil servants to help her dodge a speeding fine.
Suella Braverman is said to have requested Home Office aides help set up a one-to-one driving awareness course so she would not have to sit with other motorists at an in-person one.
When they refused, she turned to a political aide who asked whether she could undertake and online course – but under an alias and with her camera off, The Sunday Times reports.
Both suggestions were allegedly refused, with Mrs Braverman later choosing to forgo the course altogether and accepting three points on her driving licence.
According to the newspaper, sources close to the Home Secretary repeatedly refused to comment when asked if the first request was made to minimise the chance of her being recognised.
They also told the paper she was not aware of the aide’s requests on her behalf.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats are calling for Mrs Braverman to face a probe by the Prime Minister’s adviser on ministerial interests, Sir Laurie Magnus.
The Home Secretary pictured leaving Number 10 earlier this month (Picture: Getty)
The rules currently mean that Mr Sunak would have to commission his ethics tsar to look into the allegations, which Labour has suggested could breach the ministerial code — a set of rules all ministers must abide by or face sanctions, including potentially being sacked.
A source close to Mrs Braverman said the speeding ticket and subsequent arrangements for dealing with it were reported to the Cabinet Office at the time.
They said the Home Secretary was keen to arrange a course, rather than take the points, due to concerns around her insurance premium potentially increasing.
Mrs Braverman was reportedly issued with a speeding notice by police after being caught driving faster than the speed limit on a road outside London when she was attorney general in the summer of 2022.
She was offered the choice of paying the fine and receiving three points, attending the course in lieu of points and the fine, or challenging the speeding notice.
The Sunday Times said it was after being appointed home secretary by former prime minister Liz Truss that she attempted to engage civil servants in the Home Office about trying to secure a special arrangement for a driving course.
Mrs Braverman was reportedly issued with a speeding notice when she was attorney general in the summer of 2022 (Picture: Getty)
Mrs Braverman resigned on October 19 as home secretary after sharing a sensitive document with a Tory backbencher from a personal email without permission.
She was, however, reappointed Home Secretary by Mr Sunak only six days later when he entered No 10.
It was at this point that she decided to drop her pursuit of a driving awareness course, instead taking the points, the newspaper reported.
Labour shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the reports were ‘shocking’.
She said: ‘As Home Secretary, Suella Braverman is responsible for upholding the law, yet this report suggests she has tried to abuse her position to get round the normal penalties so it is one rule for her and another for everyone else.
‘We’ve had 13 years of the Tories trying to dodge the rules for themselves and their mates.
‘Enough is enough. The Home Secretary and the Prime Minister need to both urgently explain what has been going on, including what the Prime Minister knew when he reappointed her.
‘Rishi Sunak was too weak to deal with her the last time she broke the ministerial code, is he still too weak to take action now?
‘The Prime Minister has promised integrity, professionalism and accountability, yet it appears his Home Secretary is blatantly flouting all three.
‘We need an urgent investigation into what has gone on here, starting with Laurie Magnus seeing how this is possibly compatible with the ministerial code.’
Alistair Carmichael, the Lib Dems’ home affairs spokesman, said: ‘Once again for the Government it’s one rule for them and another for the rest of us.
‘Suella Braverman should be urgently investigated by the ethics adviser and add her name to the near endless list of ministers who have had to undergo the same.
‘Time and time again we are seeing a conveyor belt of Conservative politicians run roughshod over the rules and drag our politics into the gutter.
‘Now, the buck stops with Rishi Sunak himself to stop the endless headlines of sleaze and scandal.’
A source close to the Home Secretary said: ‘Mrs Braverman accepted three points for a speeding offence which took place last summer.
‘The Cabinet Office was notified of this as requested by Mrs Braverman. She was not and is not disqualified from driving.’
According to the Government’s website, a motorist can be banned from driving if they have 12 or more penalty points on their licence.
The Sunday Times said that civil servants, before refusing Mrs Braverman’s request for them to set-up a bespoke driving course arrangement for her, contacted the Cabinet Office for advice.
A Cabinet Office spokesman, asked to confirm the report, said: ‘It would not be appropriate to comment on the existence or content of advice between Government departments.’
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure to investigate the reported claims.
