Sir Keir Starmer has refused Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's request to sack immigration minister Mike Tapp after an unauthorised newspaper column sparked a bitter internal row — even as Mahmood unveiled the biggest asylum overhaul in decades.
Tapp used an article in The Times to argue that foreign care workers should be exempt from Mahmood's planned visa changes, writing: "It is my strong belief that those who have come to the United Kingdom on care worker visas who have played by the rules … should not be required to wait longer to apply for settlement."
“Starmer rejects Home Secretary's demand to sack immigration minister after unauthorised column, as Mahmood unveils tough asylum bill.”
A Home Office source said Mahmood believed the article constituted "freelancing on policy" and a breach of collective responsibility and the Ministerial Code. Reporters were pointed to the Code's requirement that ministers "should be able to express their views frankly in private while maintaining a united front when decisions have been reached."
But Downing Street pushed back, with a spokesperson 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." Tapp was "reminded of his obligations" but retains his job. The prime minister has confidence in both Mahmood and Tapp, No 10 said.
Tapp responded 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 won't be intimidated to drop my views. Stay classy!"
Days later, Mahmood set out her Immigration and Asylum Bill — a sweeping package she argues will protect the system "for generations to come." Among the most controversial measures: forcing successful asylum seekers to repay £10,000 toward the cost of their accommodation once they start earning.
Labour backbencher Kim Johnson called it "performative cruelty" and "a tax on refugees." The bill strips judges of the power to decide asylum appeals, creating a new Independent Immigration Appeals Authority staffed by trained members of the public. It also toughens deportation rules for foreign national offenders and restricts human rights claims under the European Convention on Human Rights to parents, spouses and children under 18.
Mahmood said: "Britain has always offered sanctuary … But this system only survives if the public trusts that it is fair, controlled, and not open to abuse." The bill is expected to be an early test for Prime Minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham, who is understood to have seen its contents.