‘Speeding’ at the time of the Attorney General’s Home Secretary Braberman
Complaint of ‘one-to-one education’ to public officials to hide identity
Prime Minister Sunak, who has the right to decide on the fact-finding, is on the test bench
Britain’s unique way of dealing with entourage controversies
Suela Braberman, 43, was the Attorney General for speeding. In June of last year, a speeding notice landed on him. She was the head of a female Indian prosecutor who was appointed by former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson two years ago. An Englishman caught speeding has two paths. You must receive group safe driving training or pay a fine along with 3 demerit points. If you accumulate 12 points, you will be banned from driving. Braberman decided to take safety training.
Three months later, Braberman was appointed Home Secretary in the newly formed Liz Truss cabinet. He was responsible for overseeing security and immigration policy. He was an icon of hard-line conservatives within the Conservative Party. He spearheaded a new immigration policy that emphasized tough law enforcement and effectively deported illegal immigrants to Rwanda.
When Braberman took office, he asked the secretary’s office to find out if he could receive one-on-one training from an instructor. If he went to a group education where about 20 people usually gather, his identity would be exposed. However, the staff rejected the newly inaugurated minister’s request. At the same time, the Ethics Department presented the judgment that if the minister mobilizes public officials to solve private problems, not only the minister but also the public officials concerned will be punished.
Home Secretary Suela Braberman visits a police station in London on the 5th, the day before the coronation of King Charles III, and checks the event security plan. He is emphasizing the strong execution of public power, such as the strict suppression of illegal protests. Secretary Braberman’s TwitterBraberman did not stop. He requested one-on-one training from a company in charge of safety training by ordering an aide to the minister, who is a ‘Gonggong (somehow a public servant)’, but was rejected. The company said that it is possible to take online classes, but the principle of ‘collective education’ must be followed. The aide asked for his face not to be shown on the screen or to use a pseudonym, but this was also rejected. The fact that speeding drivers felt shame by revealing their faces was because it had the effect of raising awareness.
While resolving the ‘speeding ticket’ ran into trouble, another problem arose for Braverman. It was revealed that he had sent confidential immigration policy-related information to a Conservative MP via personal email. Controversy arose over the leak of confidential information, and he resigned as minister the day before the Truss cabinet collapsed after 44 days. Despite his blemishes, Braverman was still the leading Conservative leader. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who came to power subsequently, appointed him again as Home Minister after six days of resignation.
Returning to the minister’s office, Braberman finally settled the speeding problem that had dragged on for over four months. He gave up safety education and chose ‘demerit points + penalty’. At this time, no one expected the ‘speeding scandal’ to come six months later.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, May 19-21. Left is US President Joe Biden. prime minister sunak twitterPrime Minister Sunak asked reporters at the closing press conference of the G7 summit held in Japan on the 21st, frowning. “Any questions about the G7 summit?”
At the conference, which was supposed to inform the diplomatic achievements, British reporters poured out questions about the future of Minister Braverman. On that day, allegations that Braverman made unreasonable demands to public officials by using his ministerial position to hide the fact of speeding were exposed in the UK. There was a strong public opinion that a fact-finding investigation should be conducted as it violated the Ministerial code, which states that a minister must not use his public position for private purposes or act in a way that would appear to be so.
Moreover, Britain is notorious for not granting exceptions to high-ranking officials who break traffic laws. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the highest-ranking Church of England cleric who recently officiated the coronation of King Charles III, was caught speeding while driving at 40 km/h at a speed of 32 km/h. Prime Minister Sunak also posted a picture of himself driving on Instagram and was fined 150,000 won for not wearing a seatbelt.
The scandal that started with a “speeding ticket” by a powerful minister was now putting Prime Minister Sunak to the test of state administration. Labor and the Conservatives were divided over whether he should order a fact-finding. In Britain, where the people vote for the party and the leader of the majority party becomes the prime minister, there are many cases in which the government is shaken when a key adviser with a solid position in the party turns against the prime minister.
Sunak himself was the party. The collapse of the Johnson cabinet, which was at stake due to ‘party gate’, was the decisive blow when Sunnack threw out the post of Treasury Secretary. When the Truss cabinet collapsed, Braberman’s resignation as Home Secretary was the trigger. Braberman was a key adviser who would push for Sunak’s main platform, “restricting illegal immigration,” and was a strong supporter of the party.
A letter sent by Prime Minister Sunak to Minister Braverman on the 24th containing his decision not to investigate the speeding incident.Snag couldn’t knock out Braverman. On the 24th, the Prime Minister’s Office website published a letter he wrote to Minister Braberman. “After reviewing your explanation, etc., we have accepted the opinion of the ethics advisor that no further investigation is necessary. It is my decision that it is not to the extent of violating the Minister’s Code of Ethics.” Previously, the Home Office also released a letter of apology from Braverman to Sunack detailing the circumstances.
Prime Minister Sunak’s decision to exonerate has been criticized as “weak and cowardly”, but strangely, the controversy has subsided. Sunak’s decision must have taken political interests into consideration, but it is interesting to disclose the letters exchanged between the two to the public. This is because if the party in question explains in detail and the decision-making process of the person in charge of personnel management is transparently revealed, at least the responsibility will be clear, so that it can be evaluated and judged politically later.
When this happens, it is a slightly different way of solving the problem than we do, where we go to investigation and trial after exhausting political disputes.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.