The immigration minister has said he “won’t be intimidated” to drop his views after the home secretary called on the prime minister to sack him for publicly challenging government policy on foreign care workers.
The extraordinary row broke out after Mike Tapp wrote an article for The Times, asserting his "strong belief" that foreign care workers already in the UK should not face extended waiting periods to qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR).
He stated he had been collaborating with officials to "develop a better approach than a blanket retrospective extension from five years to 10 years for everyone," directly contradicting the home secretary's plans to tighten settlement rules.
But the Home Office hit back, with a government source accusing him of having taken “proposals that the home secretary was working on, and briefed them as his own”.
It is understood that the home secretary has now barred the minister from viewing any government documents or holding meetings without her approval.
Downing Street has so far resisted calls to dismiss the minister, sparking a stand-off with Ms Mahmood on Thursday evening after she accused Mr Tapp of breaching the ministerial code.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said on Friday that Sir Keir Starmer still has confidence in both Mr Tapp and Ms Mahmood, but added he was now taking advice on the matter.
The spokesman said: “He’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.”
The public spat reached fever pitch on Friday morning as Mr Tapp hit back at the home secretary on social media, writing: “Ok, morning all. It’s gone from ‘he broke the ministerial code’ to ‘he stole my idea’.
“I have put my views across on a policy I’ve been working on for months (I have the receipts) in an Op Ed in the times. Give it a read, and let’s continue to discuss.
“I won’t be intimidated to drop my views. Stay classy!”
Responding, a government source said: “Mike Tapp wrote a piece in a national newspaper freelancing on policy without the knowledge or agreement of the home secretary or her team.
“He took proposals that the home secretary was working on, and briefed them as his own. In doing so, he has broken collective responsibility and has breached the Ministerial Code.
“Now is he threatening to leak sensitive documents. The home secretary has asked the prime minister to sack him.”
Ms Mahmood has proposed to double the time it takes for most migrants to qualify for permanent residence to a decade, including for claimants who are already in the UK but have not yet received ILR.
The home secretary is understood to have been unaware of the piece until The Times rang her for comment, as a result believing the Dover MP should be dismissed from his role as minister for immigration and citizenship.
However, Downing Street appears reluctant to dismiss him. Mr Tapp has been loyal to Sir Keir even as his authority drained away across the wider Parliamentary Labour Party and expressed disappointment when the prime minister announced his resignation on Monday, calling it a “sad day”.
On Friday morning, justice minister Jake Richards said it would be up to the prime minister whether to sack Mr Tapp.
He told Times Radio: “The prime minister makes decisions as to whether the ministerial code or collective responsibility is broken.
“Mike is a friend of mine, he’s someone who served his country before coming into Parliament, he’s someone I have an enormous amount of respect for.
“My view is that, as a very junior minister myself, we work as a team and I would always work with my Secretary of State, and if my Secretary of State was Shabana Mahmood, that would be even more so, because she’s a formidable home secretary.”
He added: “We’re clearly in an unusual moment in our politics, where the prime minister has resigned on Monday, just a few days ago, and it’s quite clear that his replacement will be taking over in the next few weeks.
“Now, that is unusual. We need to undertake that interregnum period with some calm, I think everyone needs to take a deep breath and ensure that we work collectively as a team for the interests of the country.
“I’m sure that’s what Mike will do… he’s someone who served his country before with great distinction, and I’m sure he’ll continue to do that as a minister and as Member of Parliament.”
The questions over his future comes amid broader turmoil at the top of government, after Andy Burnham emerged as the frontrunner to replace the Labour leader as early as July 17.
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