Rishi Sunak claims Suella Braverman's security breach was a 'mistake'

It comes as Downing Street yesterday did not deny that officials advised against the move, days after she was forced out.

Mr Sunak said on Wednesday he was “delighted” to enlist the MP to his “united Cabinet” following questions from MPs in the House of Commons.

The Prime Minister, in his first full day in office, defended her appointment during his first Prime Minister’s Questions, saying: “The Home Secretary made an error of judgment but she recognised that, she raised the matter and she accepted her mistake.

He is now facing calls for an official inquiry into the Home Secretary for breaking the ministerial code by sharing a sensitive document with a Tory backbencher from a personal email account.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Mr Sunak of doing “a grubby deal trading national security” in order to buy her support in the Tory leadership election.

Downing Street denied reports that Cabinet Secretary Simon Case is “livid” over her swift return and “very concerned” about the breach.

“There were reports about the Cabinet Secretary’s reaction which I certainly don’t recognise,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said. “There was a report about him being livid.”

But he declined to deny suggestions that Mr Sunak had been advised by officials against rehiring Ms Braverman.

Downing Street confirmed that unlike his predecessor Liz Truss, Mr Sunak will shortly appoint a new independent ethics advisor, as part of his attempt to bring “integrity” back to Government.

The appointment will fill the gap left by Ms Truss after Lord Geidt quit in June after a challenging period advising Boris Johnson.

But the spokesman declined to say whether the new adviser would be asked to investigate Ms Braverman.

But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “He’s so weak, he’s done a grubby deal trading national security because he was scared to lose another leadership election.”

Ms Braverman, who had been in the role six weeks when she was forced out, said she made a “mistake” which she conceded was a “technical infringement” of the rules.

But questions remain about why she sent the document to fellow right-winger Sir John Hayes and how she accidentally copied in an aide to another MP, who sounded the alarm.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper wrote to Mr Case demanding an investigation “into the extent of this and other possible security breaches”.

The Prime Minister also faced question over a second appointment to his cabinet, and whether security concerns were raised about bringing one of his allies back into Government.

Labour MP Stephen Kinnock raised concerns about the appointment of Gavin Williamson as a Cabinet Office minister at Prime Minister’s Questions.

Mr Williamson, a close ally of Rishi Sunak, was sacked as defence secretary in 2019 following an inquiry into a leak from the National Security Council.

The Prime Minister told MPs that these events concerning Mr Williamson happened “four years ago” and that he “won’t take lectures” from the Labour Party which supported the scrapping of the UK’s nuclear deterrent under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.