Suella Braverman asked civil servants to help her avoid a speeding fine and points on her licence by arranging a private one-to-one driving awareness course.
The arrangement, which the home secretary sought after being caught speeding last summer, would have meant she would not have to attend an in-person course with other motorists, or an online one where her name and face would be visible on camera to other participants.
When the civil servants refused to help, she turned to a political aide who tried to persuade the course provider to agree to the arrangements.
After the requests were refused, Braverman, 43, who is in charge of law enforcement, pulled out and opted to take the three points on her licence.
The revelations raise questions about whether she breached the ministerial code by directing civil servants to help with her personal affairs, and whether she has complied with the Nolan principles of public life
Braverman was issued with a speeding notice by police after being caught outside London when she was attorney general, the government’s most senior legal officer.
She was offered the choice of paying the fine and receiving three points, attending the course in lieu of points and the fine, or challenging the speeding notice.
She initially opted for the course, which sources close to her say was because she was concerned that points on her licence would increase her car insurance premium.
As home secretary, she earns more than £150,000 a year and is driven in a ministerial car.
In September, shortly after being appointed home secretary by Liz Truss, she asked civil servants in her new department to help her secure a special arrangement for the course.
These are often run by private providers on behalf of the police and offered on a discretionary basis to motorists who have committed minor offences. Most involve two instructors and are attended by groups of up to 25 motorists.
Rather than attend as normal, Braverman asked civil servants to contact her course provider and attempt to negotiate a special one-to-one session with an instructor. Sources close to the home secretary repeatedly refused to comment when asked whether her motivation was to reduce the chances of her being recognised by members of the public.
The civil servants refused her request after becoming concerned they were being asked to become involved in the home secretary’s personal affairs.
They asked the Cabinet Office for advice and were told not to assist Braverman.
The civil service code makes clear they must not “act in a way that is determined by party political considerations”; use “official resources for party political purposes”; “be influenced by improper pressures”; or “act in a way that unjustifiably favours or discriminates against particular individuals or interests.”
The ministerial code also says that ministers “must uphold the political impartiality of the civil service and not ask civil servants to act in any way which would conflict with the civil service code”.
After the officials refused, a Home Office source confirmed Braverman asked one of her political aides to assist her.
A number of requests were then made to the course provider. These included asking whether Braverman would be able to undertake an online course, but be allowed to use an alias or have her camera switched off.
Sources close to the home secretary claim she was not aware these requests had been made on her behalf. They were rejected by the course provider, which made clear it could not bend the rules for her.
The issue is understood to have remained unresolved when Braverman resigned from Truss’s administration after she was accused of leaking sensitive documents to a political ally.
So the person who breached national security, also tried to dodge the law… Remind me again how she’s still a government minister?!
Oh yes that’s right, Schoolboy Sunak is too afraid to sack her. Shameful.
Fair play to that course provider for refusing to bend the rules for her. They seem to be the only reason this didn’t happen as she wanted.
They dispute that her actions amounted to any breach of the ministerial
code and say that her ultimately taking the points resolved the issue.
So… the argument seems to be that any attempts to influence were unsuccessful, so no harm done…
I feel that she should get her private speed awareness course – in Rwanda.
As much as shes a cunt, I’d argue the title is inaccurate.
She had the choice of points/fine or a speed awareness course (like most of people). She asked civil serants and and aides to try and to arrange a one to one course which presumably wouldnt entail being seen by other course attendees. Its shitty behaviour but it’s not “help to dodge speeding fine” imo.
Absolutely sketch as fuck and worthy of resignation for anyone with integrity though.
The interesting and telling detail is that two of the more junior ministers at the home office (Jenrick and Tuggenhaut) are banned from driving because of other offences of their own.
Obviously all three of them didn’t get the memo that the laws they make apply to them as well as the little people.
Wankers.
I assume she’ll be punished to the full extent of the law for this abuse of power?
*Laugh track plays*
I can understand her not wanting to attend in person and have to sit next to a Black Cab driver unironically saying ‘TFL – Totally Failing London’ at every opportunity.
Yet she wants to be tougher on criminals herself. If she ever runs for Tory leader, I can see her being someone who does with whole life sentences being applied to a much wider range of crimes, as well as on bringing back the death penalty; yet here we see her trying to get away with her own breach of the law. As with many of those in power, they think they are above the law, as if their reasons for breaking it are better than those of ordinary people.
Next up in the news, man who drank bottle of laxatives shat his pants
Nolan principals of public life.
1.2 Integrity
Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.
1.4 Accountability
Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.
1.5 Openness
Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.
1.6 Honesty
Holders of public office should be truthful.
1.7 Leadership
Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour and treat others with respect. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.
Is there a single Conservative MP who is able to stick to the laws which they make for the rest of us?
The sad part is that none of this is the slightest bit surprising. We are being governed by a bunch of narcissistic entitled twats who are convinced of their own superiority and as such the rules do not apply to them.
So she alienates her staff and civil servants by treating them like shit and bad mouthing them in public then expects them to help her out with a speeding ticket without one of them leaking it to the press?!?!!
She’s an idiot.
Send her back where she came from! Never like harrow anyway.
Why go through all that shit for that..
“I need a private speed awareness course cuz I can’t be seen innit..”
“Fuck it, take the points then”..
If she worked as hard performing her job as she does fucking up, this country would be awesome.
Basically she didn’t influence civil servants at all. Had she influenced them she wouldn’t have accepted the 3 points or would have done what any normal person in her situation would have done and just sat in a room with strangers to do the speed awareness course.
But no. This completely out of touch with humanity monster can’t step foot in a room with “normal people” so the 3 points was the better option.
Why is she even in a position of authority?
Why are we not on the streets demanding a GE so we can get these incompetent morons out of office?
Is it some kind of Tory ploy to always have a few really awful people with constant scandals and issues in post to use as a constant distraction? Maybe I’m just being cynical
What is in these people’s minds that they just rrefuse to pay their flippin Fines!😠
Article headline is misleading clickbait. She didn’t ask anyone to try and drop charges or fine. She asked for the speed awareness course to be made private, probably to avoid media interest.
I think it was wrong of her to try and use her position to get different treatment. But I don’t think it’s as serious as trying to get a charge dropped altogether, which is what the headline indicates.
She thinks she’s still in India and the law doesn’t apply to her
23 comments
Suella Braverman asked civil servants to help her avoid a speeding fine and points on her licence by arranging a private one-to-one driving awareness course.
The arrangement, which the home secretary sought after being caught speeding last summer, would have meant she would not have to attend an in-person course with other motorists, or an online one where her name and face would be visible on camera to other participants.
When the civil servants refused to help, she turned to a political aide who tried to persuade the course provider to agree to the arrangements.
After the requests were refused, Braverman, 43, who is in charge of law enforcement, pulled out and opted to take the three points on her licence.
The revelations raise questions about whether she breached the ministerial code by directing civil servants to help with her personal affairs, and whether she has complied with the Nolan principles of public life
Braverman was issued with a speeding notice by police after being caught outside London when she was attorney general, the government’s most senior legal officer.
She was offered the choice of paying the fine and receiving three points, attending the course in lieu of points and the fine, or challenging the speeding notice.
She initially opted for the course, which sources close to her say was because she was concerned that points on her licence would increase her car insurance premium.
As home secretary, she earns more than £150,000 a year and is driven in a ministerial car.
In September, shortly after being appointed home secretary by Liz Truss, she asked civil servants in her new department to help her secure a special arrangement for the course.
These are often run by private providers on behalf of the police and offered on a discretionary basis to motorists who have committed minor offences. Most involve two instructors and are attended by groups of up to 25 motorists.
Rather than attend as normal, Braverman asked civil servants to contact her course provider and attempt to negotiate a special one-to-one session with an instructor. Sources close to the home secretary repeatedly refused to comment when asked whether her motivation was to reduce the chances of her being recognised by members of the public.
The civil servants refused her request after becoming concerned they were being asked to become involved in the home secretary’s personal affairs.
They asked the Cabinet Office for advice and were told not to assist Braverman.
The civil service code makes clear they must not “act in a way that is determined by party political considerations”; use “official resources for party political purposes”; “be influenced by improper pressures”; or “act in a way that unjustifiably favours or discriminates against particular individuals or interests.”
The ministerial code also says that ministers “must uphold the political impartiality of the civil service and not ask civil servants to act in any way which would conflict with the civil service code”.
After the officials refused, a Home Office source confirmed Braverman asked one of her political aides to assist her.
A number of requests were then made to the course provider. These included asking whether Braverman would be able to undertake an online course, but be allowed to use an alias or have her camera switched off.
Sources close to the home secretary claim she was not aware these requests had been made on her behalf. They were rejected by the course provider, which made clear it could not bend the rules for her.
The issue is understood to have remained unresolved when Braverman resigned from Truss’s administration after she was accused of leaking sensitive documents to a political ally.
So the person who breached national security, also tried to dodge the law… Remind me again how she’s still a government minister?!
Oh yes that’s right, Schoolboy Sunak is too afraid to sack her. Shameful.
Fair play to that course provider for refusing to bend the rules for her. They seem to be the only reason this didn’t happen as she wanted.
They dispute that her actions amounted to any breach of the ministerial
code and say that her ultimately taking the points resolved the issue.
So… the argument seems to be that any attempts to influence were unsuccessful, so no harm done…
I feel that she should get her private speed awareness course – in Rwanda.
As much as shes a cunt, I’d argue the title is inaccurate.
She had the choice of points/fine or a speed awareness course (like most of people). She asked civil serants and and aides to try and to arrange a one to one course which presumably wouldnt entail being seen by other course attendees. Its shitty behaviour but it’s not “help to dodge speeding fine” imo.
Absolutely sketch as fuck and worthy of resignation for anyone with integrity though.
The interesting and telling detail is that two of the more junior ministers at the home office (Jenrick and Tuggenhaut) are banned from driving because of other offences of their own.
Obviously all three of them didn’t get the memo that the laws they make apply to them as well as the little people.
Wankers.
I assume she’ll be punished to the full extent of the law for this abuse of power?
*Laugh track plays*
I can understand her not wanting to attend in person and have to sit next to a Black Cab driver unironically saying ‘TFL – Totally Failing London’ at every opportunity.
Yet she wants to be tougher on criminals herself. If she ever runs for Tory leader, I can see her being someone who does with whole life sentences being applied to a much wider range of crimes, as well as on bringing back the death penalty; yet here we see her trying to get away with her own breach of the law. As with many of those in power, they think they are above the law, as if their reasons for breaking it are better than those of ordinary people.
Next up in the news, man who drank bottle of laxatives shat his pants
Nolan principals of public life.
1.2 Integrity
Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.
1.4 Accountability
Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.
1.5 Openness
Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.
1.6 Honesty
Holders of public office should be truthful.
1.7 Leadership
Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour and treat others with respect. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.
Is there a single Conservative MP who is able to stick to the laws which they make for the rest of us?
The sad part is that none of this is the slightest bit surprising. We are being governed by a bunch of narcissistic entitled twats who are convinced of their own superiority and as such the rules do not apply to them.
So she alienates her staff and civil servants by treating them like shit and bad mouthing them in public then expects them to help her out with a speeding ticket without one of them leaking it to the press?!?!!
She’s an idiot.
Send her back where she came from! Never like harrow anyway.
Why go through all that shit for that..
“I need a private speed awareness course cuz I can’t be seen innit..”
“Fuck it, take the points then”..
If she worked as hard performing her job as she does fucking up, this country would be awesome.
Basically she didn’t influence civil servants at all. Had she influenced them she wouldn’t have accepted the 3 points or would have done what any normal person in her situation would have done and just sat in a room with strangers to do the speed awareness course.
But no. This completely out of touch with humanity monster can’t step foot in a room with “normal people” so the 3 points was the better option.
Why is she even in a position of authority?
Why are we not on the streets demanding a GE so we can get these incompetent morons out of office?
Is it some kind of Tory ploy to always have a few really awful people with constant scandals and issues in post to use as a constant distraction? Maybe I’m just being cynical
What is in these people’s minds that they just rrefuse to pay their flippin Fines!😠
She also recently asked if speeding fines could be expensed. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/suella-braverman-asked-if-mps-could-claim-for-speed-fines-mzf6k5rh5
Article headline is misleading clickbait. She didn’t ask anyone to try and drop charges or fine. She asked for the speed awareness course to be made private, probably to avoid media interest.
I think it was wrong of her to try and use her position to get different treatment. But I don’t think it’s as serious as trying to get a charge dropped altogether, which is what the headline indicates.
She thinks she’s still in India and the law doesn’t apply to her