Departure of Previous Home Secretary
Debate between Wayne David and Brendan Clarke-Smith(1 year, 6 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
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Brendan Clarke-Smith
I am happy to pass that question on to those at the Home Office so that they can provide the hon. Lady with the information she seeks. Of course, we remain committed to safeguarding children, whether they are in this country or those that this country has received.
Wayne David (Caerphilly) (Lab)
The Minister has referred to the former Home Secretary’s letter of resignation. In that letter, she said:
“the document was a draft Written Ministerial Statement...due for publication imminently. Much of it had already been briefed to MPs.”
Can the Minister confirm that that is the case? I suspect that it is the case, and if so, we all know full well what the real reason for her resignation was, do we not?
Brendan Clarke-Smith
I think I covered this earlier, but I am happy to repeat what I said for the hon. Gentleman’s benefit. Having this information in a personal email account and then sharing it outside Government does constitute a clear breach of the code. Members may wish to look at sections 2.14 and 2.3 if that would be helpful, but the Prime Minister has been clear that the security of Government business is paramount. That is why we hold Ministers to the highest standards, and that is why the Home Secretary tendered her resignation.