Home Secretary Requests Immigration Minister's Removal After Policy Article

The home secretary asked the prime minister to remove the immigration minister after the junior minister published an article in The Times that outlined a policy position on care-worker visas without prior clearance. A Home Office source said the article amounted to freelancing on policy and breached collective responsibility under the Ministerial Code.

The source added that the minister had taken internal ideas under discussion and presented them publicly as his own.

A Downing Street spokesperson stated that decisions on the Ministerial Code rest solely with the prime minister and are not for any individual secretary of state to determine. The spokesperson said the immigration minister had been reminded of obligations under the code, including collective responsibility and procedures for clearing government policy.

The prime minister's official spokesman separately confirmed that the prime minister retains confidence in both the home secretary and the immigration minister.

The immigration minister posted on X that he respects the home secretary and will continue working for the country. He described the episode as shifting from an accusation of breaching the code to a claim that he had taken credit for someone else's idea. The minister wrote that he had worked on the policy for months and would not be intimidated into dropping his views.

Background to the Dispute The article argued that foreign care workers already in the United Kingdom who had followed the rules should not face longer waits for settlement under planned visa changes. The home secretary has proposed extending the qualifying period for permanent residence from five to ten years for most migrants, with longer waits for those on health and social care visas.