Alex Burghart

Alex Burghart

Conservative — Brentwood and Ongar

Speaking in the House of Commons on 23 April 2026

Debate

Ministerial Code

Contribution

The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister is perfectly intelligent enough to know that there is an enormous difference between those two words. I will remind him that the Prime Minister is bound by the ministerial code. Yesterday, the Prime Minister also told the House: “Sir Olly was absolutely clear that nobody put pressure on him to make this appointment”—[Official Report, 22 April 2026; Vol. 784, c. 316.] but that is not what Sir Olly said to the Foreign Affairs Committee. He actually said: “Throughout January, honestly, my office and the Foreign Secretary’s office were under constant pressure.” Again, he said that “while I think the Department felt under pressure, we were proud of the fact that we had not bowed to that pressure.” Again, he said that Philip Barton’s handover to him “contributed to my strong sense that there was an atmosphere of pressure”. To avoid being in breach of the ministerial code, Ministers must correct the record at the earliest available opportunity. At the very latest, the earliest opportunity is now. Will the Prime Minister correct the record?

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