Report: UK minister asked agents for help with McCarthy fines over debt dispute: US government backs down

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman, with the help of government officials, tried to avoid a fine for speeding, according to a newspaper report. The arch-Conservative politician asked for private retraining to avoid pay, the Sunday Times reported. The advance had failed. The interior ministry said the 43-year-old had paid the fine and accepted three points following the summer 2022 incident.

The opposition is calling for an investigation into whether Braverman has breached ministerial rules. “The Prime Minister has promised integrity, professionalism and accountability, but it seems his Home Secretary is blatantly ignoring those three points,” said Labor leader Yvette Cooper.

Braverman initially received no explicit support from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. He does not know the full details and has not spoken to her, Sunak said on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima. “It is my understanding that she expressed her regret for the speeding, accepted the fine and paid the fine,” Sunak said. A government spokeswoman later emphasized that the prime minister had confidence in Braverman.

Sunak named Braverman Secretary of the Interior last fall. She had resigned just days earlier – still under short-term Prime Minister Liz Truss – for forwarding an official document using her private email address in violation of ministerial rules. Braverman is regarded as one of the leading right-wing forces in the Conservative Party, increasingly gaining influence with nationalist slogans. (sda/dpa)