World News – UK – Ministerial Code investigation

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This page contains Sir Alex Allan’s findings on the Secretary of the Interior and an accompanying government statement.

This page contains Sir Alex Allan’s findings on the Secretary of the Interior and an accompanying government statement.

The Prime Minister took advice from his independent advisor, Sir Alex Allan, on allegations of the Minister of the Interior’s conduct earlier this year. The Prime Minister takes this issue very seriously and recognizes that it is always difficult for individuals to speak up and raise concerns and is grateful to those who have done so. The Prime Minister is grateful to Sir Alex for his advice and has carefully considered his conclusions.

From Sir Alex’s advice, it emerged that difficult working relationships existed at times at all times. Sir Alex’s advice revealed that the Home Secretary was – rightly in many cases – frustrated with the lack of responsiveness of the Home Office leadership and the lack of support she felt at DfID three years ago. However, he also noted that the Home Secretary had not always treated her officials with the anticipated consideration and respect, and her approach has on occasion been what can be described as bullying in terms of individual impact.

He therefore pointed out that the Interior Minister had not consistently met the high standards expected of her under the Ministerial Code.

The Prime Minister takes note of Sir Alex’s advice that many of the concerns that have now been raised have not been raised at this point and that the Home Secretary was unaware of the implications it had. He is reassured that the Home Secretary is sorry that she accidentally upset those she worked with. He is also reassured that relationships, practices and culture in the Home Office are improving significantly. As the arbitrator of the Code, taking Sir Alex’s advice and weighing all the factors, the Prime Minister ruled that the Ministerial Code has not been violated.

The Prime Minister has full confidence in the Minister of the Interior and considers this matter to be closed. He is grateful to the thousands of officials who are working extremely hard to support the implementation of the government’s priorities.

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Alex Allan, Priti Patel, Resignation, Ministerial Code, Official, UK Home Secretary, Home Office