Sir Keir Starmer is taking advice on whether Mike Tapp broke Government protocol, after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood called for the migration minister to be sacked over an article out of step with official policy on immigration plans.
Ms Mahmood has called for the Prime Minister to dismiss Mr Tapp, and has denied him access to sensitive documents without her approval, after he wrote a Times article suggesting foreign care workers should be exempt from her plans to tighten settlement rules.
Ministerial Code and Collective Responsibility
The Prime Minister is taking advice on whether Mr Tapp broke the ministerial code by writing the piece, as it appears contrary to the convention of collective responsibility, which means ministers should not have public disputes over official policy.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters Sir Keir was “taking advice in the usual way”, adding that it was ultimately up to Sir Keir whether Mr Tapp’s actions would be considered a breach of the code.
Pressed whether Sir Keir agreed with the substance of Mr Tapp’s article, the spokesman described his words as indicative of ideas the Home Office was “exploring”, but said it represented only the minister’s personal views.
The Government “will double the route to settlement from five to 10 years”, the spokesman said, but added that ministers were currently reviewing 200,000 responses to a consultation on the policy.
Division at the Home Office
Sir Keir has confidence in both Mr Tapp and the Home Secretary, and believes that they can continue together at the Home Office, the spokesman also indicated. But in a sign of division at the heart of the department, it is understood that Mr Tapp is now being denied access to sensitive files and meetings without approval from the Home Secretary.
Mr Tapp on Friday claimed he had “receipts” showing that he had spearheaded work on an exemption from Ms Mahmood’s policy on curbing indefinite leave to remain (ILR) for migrants. His remarks appear to have been interpreted by some in Government as a threat to share sensitive information.
A Government source said: “Mike Tapp wrote a piece in a national newspaper freelancing on policy without the knowledge or agreement of the Home Secretary or her team. “He took proposals that the Home Secretary was working on, and briefed them as his own. “In doing so, he has broken collective responsibility and has breached the ministerial code. Now is he threatening to leak sensitive documents. The Home Secretary has asked the Prime Minister to sack him.”
Mr Tapp’s Defence
Mr Tapp had earlier criticised figures within Government briefing against him, writing on X: “It’s gone from ‘he broke the ministerial code’ to ‘he stole my idea’. “I have put my views across on a policy I’ve been working on for months (I have the receipts) in an Op Ed in the times. Give it a read, and let’s continue to discuss.”
In his article he expressed a “strong belief” that those already working in the UK care system should not have to wait longer to qualify for ILR. He reportedly wrote that he had been working closely with officials to “develop a better approach than a blanket retrospective extension from five years to 10 years for everyone”.
Mr Tapp expressed publicly loyalty to Sir Keir even as his authority drained away across the wider Parliamentary Labour Party. The questions over his future come amid broader turmoil at the top of Government, after Andy Burnham emerged as the frontrunner to replace the Labour leader as early as July 17.
