Sir Keir Starmer has declined Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's request to sack immigration minister Mike Tapp after a row erupted over an unauthorised newspaper column. The dispute, which has deepened a rift between Starmer and Mahmood, saw the home secretary also seek to deny Tapp access to sensitive documents without her approval.
The row began when Tapp used an article in The Times to argue that foreign care workers should be exempt from Mahmood's plans to change visa rules for migrants already living in the UK. "It is my strong belief that those who have come to the United Kingdom on care worker visas who have played by the rules and have genuinely contributed to our care system should not be required to wait longer to apply for settlement," he wrote. Mahmood was unaware the article had been written, and a Home Office source described it as "freelancing on policy" and a breach of collective responsibility and the Ministerial Code.
“Starmer refuses to sack immigration minister Mike Tapp after Home Secretary Mahmood demanded his removal over an unauthorised article.”
A Downing Street spokesperson responded by saying "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." The spokesperson added that Tapp had been "reminded of his obligations" under the code. Starmer, who has confidence in both Mahmood and Tapp, said he was taking advice on whether the code was broken.
Tapp, a loyal ally of Starmer and the MP for Dover, delivered a defiant response on X, posting: "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. I won't be intimidated to drop my views. Stay classy!" In a later tweet – since deleted – he told a supporter: "The attempted intimidation is quite a sight. I've seen off the Taliban and taken out terrorists. Country first, always." He subsequently apologised, saying: "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."
A Home Office source had earlier told the BBC that Tapp "has taken possible ideas that the home secretary and her team were working on, and briefed them as his own to try to win a job in the new administration." The source pointed to the Ministerial Code passage on collective responsibility: "The principle of collective responsibility requires that ministers should be able to express their views frankly in the expectation that they can argue freely in private while maintaining a united front when decisions have been reached."
The row has escalated in the last days of Starmer's time as prime minister, with Mahmood – one of the first cabinet ministers to urge Starmer to stand down – now facing off against a junior minister who vows not to be silenced.