Starmer ‘taking advice’ on whether immigration minister broke government protocol – as it happened

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here The prime minister’s official spokesperson has told journalists that Keir Starmer is taking advice on whether Mike Tapp broke with government protocol for writing the article in the Times, but confirmed he retains confidence in both Tapp and the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, despite the escalating row. double quotation markHe’s taking advice in the usual way. You wouldn’t expect me to go into the kind of internal processes around that, but as I say, as I think was said last night, decisions on the ministerial code are for the prime minister, and that’s always been the case. According to the prime minister’s spokesperson, Keir Starmer is taking advice on whether immigration minister Mike Tapp broke with government protocol after he wrote an unauthorised article in the Times calling for overseas care workers to be exempt from the home secretary’s hardline immigration changes. Shabana Mahmood, who wants Tapp dismissed from his post, is locked in an extraordinary standoff with Starmer after Downing Street refused to immediately sack Tapp for breaching the ministerial code. Tapp is reportedly now to be denied a