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Written Question
Ministers: Legal Costs
Tuesday 20th June 2023

Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish a list of the former ministers that have been given legal representation paid for by the public purse for (a) parliamentary and (b) Privileges Committee inquiries.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

There are no plans to publish such a list.

There is an established precedent across multiple administrations based on the principle that former Ministers, of all political colours, may be supported with legal representation after they have left office – when matters relate to their time and conduct as a Minister of the Crown. This has been the case in public inquiries into matters such as BSE, Iraq, Grenfell, Infected Blood, Child Sexual Abuse and Covid.

However, the principle is not limited to public inquiries and has been applied in other contexts, for example, litigation. The same principle can also be applied to Parliamentary inquiries, where it relates to one’s conduct as Minister of the Crown.

Written Question
Boris Johnson
Tuesday 13th June 2023

Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Prime Minister’s oral contribution of 23 May 2023, Official Report, vol 733, column 292, what the evidential basis is for his statement that it is a long-established process across multiple Administrations that former Ministers are supported with legal representation after they have left office during (a) a parliamentary inquiries and (b) privileges committee inquiries of Parliament.

Answered by Jeremy Quin

The Prime Minister specifically said “It is actually a long-established process across multiple Administrations that former Ministers are supported with legal representation after they have left office to deal with matters that relate to their time in office. That has been the practice for many years, as I say, across multiple political Administrations, both Labour and Conservative.”

The Privileges Committee inquiry relates to the conduct of the (now former) Prime Minister making statements at the despatch box on behalf of HM Government.

There is an established precedent across multiple administrations based on the principle that former Ministers, of all political colours, may be supported with legal representation after they have left office – when matters relate to their time and conduct as a Minister of the Crown.

This has been the case in public inquiries into matters such as BSE, Iraq, Grenfell, Infected Blood, Child Sexual Abuse and Covid.

However, the principle is not limited to public inquiries and has been applied in other contexts, for example, litigation. The same principle can also be applied to Parliamentary inquiries, where it relates to one’s conduct as Minister of the Crown.

As set out by Alex Chisholm, the Permanent Secretary and Accounting Officer of the Cabinet Office at the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee meeting on 26 January 2023, the contract award has followed the proper procurement process.

Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 18 Jul 2022
Confidence in Her Majesty’s Government

"Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?..."
Karl Turner - View Speech

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Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 18 Jul 2022
Confidence in Her Majesty’s Government

"We know that when he was Foreign Secretary, the Prime Minister managed to slip his security detail; we do not know why and there were no officials there. Does the hon. Gentleman have any concerns about what meetings the Prime Minister may have had as Prime Minister without officials or …..."
Karl Turner - View Speech

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Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 25 May 2022
Sue Gray Report

"After months of shuffling around, prevarication and buck passing, this report makes it absolutely clear that, when the British public were taking the restrictions seriously, the Prime Minister was taking the British public for fools. That is why the Prime Minister and his Government cannot be taken seriously. Is it …..."
Karl Turner - View Speech

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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 21 Apr 2022
Referral of Prime Minister to Committee of Privileges

"I intend to speak for less than five minutes. This is probably the most unusual debate that I have had the privilege of speaking in since I was elected to this House in 2010. It is unusual because when I suggested on Tuesday that the electorate had already concluded that …..."
Karl Turner - View Speech

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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 21 Apr 2022
Referral of Prime Minister to Committee of Privileges

"I am confused here, to be honest with the Minister. Is it the Prime Minister’s position that he did not understand the rules, or that the rules did not apply to him? What is it?..."
Karl Turner - View Speech

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Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 19 Apr 2022
Easter Recess: Government Update

"We have always known that the Prime Minister was only ever sorry because he was caught bang to rights. This latest spin about the Met having it wrong is designed to bully the Met and provide cover to his Back Benchers who do not have the bottle to sack him, …..."
Karl Turner - View Speech

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Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 19 Apr 2022
Easter Recess: Government Update

"I withdraw the word “liar”, Mr Speaker, but the electorate will have already decided. Everybody knows that the Prime Minister is a lawbreaker. If the Met has got the wrong end of the stick, why does he not challenge the penalties before the criminal courts and have his day in …..."
Karl Turner - View Speech

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Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 29 Mar 2022
Appointment of Lord Lebedev

"The hon. Gentleman is making an excellent speech. Is not the real concern that the Prime Minister seemingly ignored Security Service advice? That is the issue. We do not make criticism of appointing the person as a peer; the concern is that the Prime Minister ignored security advice and appointed …..."
Karl Turner - View Speech

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