The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has restricted migration minister Mike Tapp's access to sensitive documents and meetings without her approval, demanding that Prime Minister Keir Starmer sack him. The extraordinary public row erupted after Tapp wrote an unauthorised article in the Times calling for overseas care workers to be exempt from changes to immigration rules.
Background of the Dispute
Tapp, a loyal Starmer supporter and former soldier, published the article without the knowledge or agreement of Mahmood or her team. A Home Office source accused Tapp of taking proposals Mahmood had been working on and presenting them as his own, breaking collective responsibility and the ministerial code.
Downing Street confirmed Tapp remains a minister but said Starmer is taking advice on whether Tapp breached the code. The Cabinet Office's propriety and ethics team (PET) and Sir Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser on ministerial standards, are likely sources of advice.
Tapp's Defiant Response
Tapp responded defiantly on X, stating he would not be intimidated. In a since-deleted tweet, he wrote: "The attempted intimidation is quite a sight. I've seen off the Taliban and taken out terrorists. Country First, always." In another tweet, he said: "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."
Above a picture of himself, he added: "I won't be intimidated to drop my views. Stay classy! Oh and I'm at a wedding in San Francisco, but happy to talk more when I'm back."
Government Reaction
A Home Office source said Tapp's remarks were interpreted as a threat to share sensitive information, adding: "Now he is threatening to leak sensitive documents. The home secretary has asked the prime minister to sack him." Justice minister Jake Richards told Times Radio the Home Office needed to "take a deep breath", describing Tapp's actions as "not particularly wise" for a junior minister.
The row comes as senior Labour figures jostle for roles in Andy Burnham's prospective administration, expected to take over as early as 17 July. A source close to Mahmood claimed Tapp wrote the article "to try to win a job in the new administration."
