UK's Home Secretary Suella Braverman accused of fresh ministerial rules breach over undisclosed charity links to Rwanda

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UK's Home Secretary Suella Braverman accused of fresh ministerial rules breach over undisclosed charity links to Rwanda

UK's Home Secretary, Suella Braverman is facing fresh allegations of ministerial code breaches over her failure to formally disclose years of previous work with the Rwandan government.

The home secretary is already facing accusations of breaking the ministerial code after the Sunday Times revealed that she asked her staff to help her dodge a speeding fine.

Ms Braverman is facing further pressure after she failed to disclose that she co-founded a charity called the Africa Justice Foundation which worked with several key members of President Paul Kagame’s government who are involved in the UK’s £140m deal to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Ms Braverman did not officially disclose her previous links to the country when appointed home secretary in 2022, despite ongoing legal challenges alleging politically-driven human rights violations including torture, murder and kidnappings.

MPs raised concerns about the Home Secretary’s links to Rwanda during a Commons urgent question on the speed awareness course accusations.

SNP MP Joanna Cherry, chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, questioned whether the Home Secretary’s “rosy-eyed view” of Rwanda’s human rights record had “anything to do with her undisclosed links” to the East African nation’s government in Kigali.

She and her SNP frontbench colleague Kirsty Blackman said that Ms Braverman’s charity work in Rwanda should be included in any investigation into her alleged breaches of the ministerial code ordered by Rishi Sunak.

Two former official standards chiefs told The Independent that Ms Braverman’s failure to disclose her co-founding with Cherie Blair of the Africa Justice Foundation, which trained Rwandan government lawyers between 2010, could be a breach of the ministerial code.

Sir Alistair Graham and Sir Alex Allan said Ms Braverman should have at least declared the work to senior Home Office officials given she has responsibility for the controversial policy of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda.

UK

The Independent reported that 19 of the lawyers trained by Ms Braverman’s charity now held positions in Paul Kagame’s Rwandan government and that some are involved in the Government’s £140m deal to send asylum seekers to the country.

Ms Braverman resigned from her post as director of the Africa Justice Foundation weeks before being elected to parliament, and did not declare her previous role to Home Office permanent secretary Matthew Rycroft last year.

A source close to the home secretary said it was not necessary for her to disclose her previous work, adding: “This was charity work carried out by Ms Braverman before she was an MP, and for which she wasn’t paid.”

But the omission will spark fresh questions over her conduct as Rishi Sunak considers launching a formal investigation into a speeding scandal, just seven months after she resigned for breaking the ministerial code through her use of official documents.