Keir Starmer Slaps Down Shabana Mahmood And Refuses To Sack Minister

Keir Starmer has reprimanded Shabana Mahmood and rejected her demand that he sack one of her junior ministers.

The home secretary had called on the prime minister to dump immigration minister Mike Tapp after he wrote an article in The Times without her permission.

In it, he appeared to break with government policy by saying migrant care workers should be exempt from tough new immigration rules.

Sources close to Mahmood accused Tapp of trying to take credit for her ideas and of breaking the ministerial code.

It also emerged that the home secretary had taken the unusual step of insisting she sign off any requests by Tapp to see official government documents.

But Downing Street announced on Friday evening that Tapp would stay in his post – as predicted by HuffPost UK.

No.10 also fired a shot across the home secretary’s bows for calling for his sacking in the first place.

A spokesman said: “It is not for any individual Secretary of State to determine whether the ministerial code has been followed, it is a matter for the prime minister alone.

“Mike Tapp has been reminded of his obligations under the ministerial code including collective responsibility and procedures relating to the clearance and presentation of government policy.”

Shortly before the Downing Street announcement, Tapp apologised for a now-deleted post on X in which he accused Mahmood of “intended intimidation” and pointed out he had “seen off the Taliban and taken out terrorists” while in the army.

He said: “Earlier today I wrote a poorly judged tweet referencing previous experiences in my professional life. I realised very quickly that it could be misinterpreted and so I deleted it immediately.

“I apologise wholeheartedly for any offence I may have caused. I have a lot of respect for the home secretary and will continue working hard for our country.”

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