Yahoo News Spy chiefs may be reluctant to share sensitive information with Suella Braverman, warns Lord Blunkett
Britain’s spy chiefs may be reluctant to share sensitive information with Suella Braverman after her controversial reappointment as Home Secretary, one of her predecessors warned on Thursday.
Lord Blunkett, who was Home Secretary from June 2001 to December 2004 when Tony Blair was Prime Minister, also stressed that foreign security agencies could scale back sharing information with MI5 and MI6 amid fears it could be “passed out of Government”.
But responding to the criticism in Parliament, Cabinet Office minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe insisted that Ms Braverman “deserves another chance” just days after she was forced to quit over a security breach.
Rishi Sunak brought Right winger Ms Braverman back into the Cabinet, after he supported her during the Tory leadership contest, despite her resignation after she was caught sending a Tory backbencher a sensitive document from a personal email account.
Her actions breached the ministerial code in two sections, on following the advice about “security of Government Business” and on abiding by “collective responsibility”.
Speaking at Westminster, Lord Blunkett said: “Isn’t it true there could be two really unfortunate outcomes to the reappointment of the current Home Secretary?
“One is that the security and intelligence services will be reluctant to provide the briefings and the openness needed.
“And the second is that other international security agencies will be reluctant to share with us if they are fearful that their information will be passed out of Government itself.”
Replying for the Government, Lady Neville-Rolfe said: “Ministers receive the security briefing, as he knows, that they need to do their job in an appropriate manner.”
Downing Street insisted Ms Braverman maintains “strong relationships” with security services.
It follows claims of a breakdown in trust after suggestions Ms Braverman, who is being nicknamed by critics as “Leaky Sue”, had earlier been investigated by Government officials over the alleged leaking of a story involving MI5.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Home Secretary continues to have strong relationships with all the operational bodies that report into the Home Office and are focused very much on keeping the country safe.”
Asked if the Prime Minister was concerned security staff may be reluctant to share information with the Home Office, the official said: “No, and any suggestion of that would be entirely false.”
Lady Neville-Rolfe added: “She brings experience and talents to the job. She apologised, she acknowledged her mistake. That was dealt with by the previous Prime Minister and you have to allow us to look forward.”
But former Tory Party chairman Sir Jake Berry MP described the breach as “really serious”.
Mark Pritchard, who used to sit on Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, said any “breakdown” in trust between MI5 and Ms Braverman must be “sorted ASAP”.
