All the times Rishi Sunak failed to take action against Tory MPs despite pledge
Rishi Sunak has yet again been accused of being "too weak" - this time for failing to punish Liz Truss for her behaviour in the US.
The PM tried to boast about acting on his "principles" by suspending Lee Anderson after he claimed Sadiq Khan was controlled by Islamists. But Keir Starmer demanded Mr Sunak take action against Ms Truss too as he must take "accountability" for the Conservative Party.
The Labour leader accused him of being too weak to do anything about Ms Truss, who last week sparked controversy at a right-wing conference in DC. The ex-PM has been criticised after she stayed silent in an interview where Tommy Robinson was called a "hero" and claimed the "deep state" sabotaged her plans as PM. Mr Starmer brutally said about Mr Sunak: "He's too weak to do anything about it. It's the story of his leadership."
The Mirror has taken a look back at all the times Mr Sunak has failed to take action when a row has broken out and has defied calls to remove the whip from Tories or sack ministers. It is a journey from his first speech as PM where he pledged a premiership with "integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level", to now, where he continues to face accusations of being a "weak" leader.
Lee Anderson was suspended this weekend after claiming Sadiq Khan was controlled by Islamists (SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)Minister campaigned with alleged sex pest MP
In October, Mr Sunak came under pressure to sack a minister who went out canvassing with an alleged sex pest former MP who was barred from the Commons. Tom Pursglove, who was then a minister in the Department for Work and Pensions, was photographed by The Sunday Mirror doorknocking with Peter Bone, who had been given a six-week suspension the week before.
Boris Johnson attempts to defend partygate and Brexit on Nadine Dorries Show
Despite Labour saying it was a sign of the "abject lack of integrity" at the heart of the Tory Party, Mr Sunak backed Mr Pursglove and took no action against him. Asked whether Mr Sunak has confidence in Mr Pursglove, the PM's spokesman said: “I mean, as a minister, yes."
The No10 spokesman said the question would need to be directed to his political colleagues as it related to political campaigning. When pressed further, he refused to say whether it was "appropriate" for a minister to be "out door knocking with someone who's been suspended for Parliament and faces some really serious allegations".
Mr Pursglove was moved to the more high-profile role of Legal Migration Minister in Mr Sunak's reshuffle in December. Labour ousted the Tories in Mr Bone's Wellingborough seat after a by-election was held earlier in February.
Tory minister Tom Pursglove was photographed by The Sunday Mirror doorknocking with disgraced MP Peter Bone (Reach Commissioned)James Cleverly made spiking joke
Mr Sunak decided not to punish James Cleverly for joking about giving his wife a date-rape drug as the PM considered "the matter closed" after he apologised.
The PM was accused of an "absence of leadership, accountability and integrity" for failing to take action against the Home Secretary. Mr Cleverly had been facing calls to resign after the Mirror revealed he joked at a Downing Street reception in December about spiking his wife's drink with a date-rape drug.
He told female guests that "a little bit of Rohypnol in her drink every night" was "not really illegal if it's only a little bit". His sick remarks came just hours after his Home Office announced plans to crack down on spiking.
Asked about Mr Sunak's stance, the PM's deputy spokeswoman said: "It was right that the Home Secretary apologised for what I understood to be comments made during a private conversation. The Prime Minister considers the matter closed and he and the Home Secretary are focused on the action that the Government is taking to tackle spiking and protect women and girls."
Liz Truss 'propagated conspiracy theories'
Labour demanded Mr Sunak consider removing the whip from Liz Truss after her appearance at CPAC conference in DC last week sparked controversy. Chair of the party Anneliese Dodds accused the ex-PM of "propagating conspiracy theories" and "associating with individuals who have actually praised the far right in our country". "That's deeply disturbing, and we've not seen any action being taken," Ms Dodds told Sky News.
Mr Starmer raised the issue in PMQs on Wednesday and accused the PM of being "weak" for failing to take action against his predecessor who "spent last week claiming that Britain is run by a shadowy cabal made up of activists, the deep state and most chillingly of all the Financial Times". Ms Truss has also been criticised for failing to say anything when right-wing activist Tommy Robinson was praised as a "hero" during an interview where she was present.
But when pressed on the issue, Mr Sunak said not a "single MP" supported Robinson, who founded the far-right English Defence League. He then dodged the question to boast about sacking Mr Anderson "straight away". Meanwhile Policing Minister Chris Philp earlier said Ms Truss should not receive the same sanction as Mr Anderson "because I don't think she has done anything wrong".
Boris Johnson says anyone who thinks he covered up Partygate 'out of their mind'
Liz Truss sparked controversy after her appearance at CPAC conference in DC (Aaron Schwartz/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock)Nadine Dorries was absent MP for months before finally quitting
In March last year, Rishi Sunak refused to boot Nadine Dorries out of the Tories even though she went AWOL from Parliament. The ex-minister was raking in an £84,000 MP salary even though she had not spoken in the Commons for months.
At the time the PM condemned Mrs Dorries’ failure to represent her Mid Bedfordshire constituency in Parliament, with his press secretary saying he “obviously would want any Tory MP to be carrying out their duties on behalf of their constituents and those that vote for them”. However, he still failed to take disciplinary action against her.
The situation got worse when Mrs Dorries announced she would be leaving her seat with "immediate effect" in June but failed to do so until nearly three months later. But Mr Sunak again failed to take any action against the absentee MP.
During the delay, Lib Dem Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper said: “It is disgraceful that she continues to have the Conservative Party whip. Clearly Rishi Sunak thinks Nadine Dorries’s actions are still worthy of being a Conservative MP. Local people are fed up with being taken for granted by this out of touch Conservative party."
Rishi Sunak refused to boot Nadine Dorries out of the Tories even though she went AWOL (Tayfun Salci/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)Paul Maynard kept job despite ongoing expenses investigation
Last month, Mr Sunak came under pressure to suspend a Tory minister who is facing investigation over claims he used taxpayers' money to campaign for the Conservative Party.
Pensions minister Paul Maynard has been referred by the Parliamentary expenses watchdog over reports that he used his taxpayer-funded constituency office to campaign for the Conservative Party and charged taxpayers when producing political materials.
The PM faced calls to suspend the whip from Mr Maynard while claims are reviewed. The Liberal Democrats urged Mr Sunak to suspend the Tory whip from him and remove him as a minister while "these extremely serious allegations are investigated". Labour said "any suggestion that taxpayer money has been misused must be thoroughly investigated".
But, yet again, Mr Sunak refused to take action. He said Mr Maynard should not have the whip removed over the claims as he said that was "not the normal approach".
Dominic Raab resigned and wasn't sacked
Early last year, Mr Sunak chose not to suspend his then-Deputy PM Dominic Raab while an inquiry into bullying accusations was ongoing, despite intense pressure to do so.
The Mirror revealed that civil servants claim they suffered breakdowns and felt suicidal over the then-Justice Secretary's alleged conduct - with staff saying working the Tory felt like being in a “controlling and abusive relationship”. He was being investigated over eight complaints during his time at the Ministry of Justice, the Foreign Office and the former Brexit department, which are said to involve at least 24 staff.
Months later, a long-awaited report into the allegations was finally handed to No10. But Mr Sunak failed to act immediately and was accused of "dither and delay" after kicking a decision on whether to sack his Mr Raab into the following day.
In the end, Mr Sunak never sacked Mr Raab. Instead Mr Raab quit after the bombshell bullying report upheld claims against him. At the time, Labour hit out at Mr Sunak's "indecision and weakness" in allowing Mr Raab to quit rather than sacking him. Number 10 declined to say whether the deputy PM was asked to resign, or whether he would otherwise have been sacked.
Dominic Raab, then-Deputy PM, was not suspended despite an ongoing inquiry into bullying accusations (Getty Images)Gavin Williamson resigned and wasn't sacked
In November 2022, a month after he became PM, Mr Sunak stubbornly refused to sack Gavin Williamson after he was accused of sending abusive messages to a Tory colleague complaining about not being invited to the Queen's funeral.
The row sparked questions about Mr Sunak's judgement after he brought Sir Gavin back into Government - despite the Tory MP being sacked by both Theresa May and Boris Johnson in recent years. Mr Sunak also gave Sir Gavin a seat "without portfolio" at the Cabinet table even though Mr Sunak knew there was an outstanding bullying complaint against him from former chief whip Wendy Morton.
Mr Sunak said: "I stand by all the decisions I have made.” And his spokesman even said the PM has "full confidence" in Sir Gavin. Just days later a series of separate bullying accusations were made against Sir Gavin, including that he allegedly told an aide to "slit your throat". Sir Gavin was forced to resign.
At the time, Labour's Deputy Leader Angela Rayner said: “Rishi Sunak appointed Gavin Williamson with full knowledge of serious allegations about his conduct and repeatedly expressed confidence in him. This is yet another example of Rishi Sunak’s poor judgement and weak leadership."
Nadhim Zahawi tax affair dragged on before sacking
In January last year, Tory Chairman Nadhim Zahawi was sacked for a "serious breach" of the ministerial code after a major row over his tax affairs dragged on for days.
The top minister had come under intense pressure after it emerged that he had settled a multi-million tax dispute - including a penalty - with HMRC while he was Chancellor last summer. Mr Sunak did not immediately sack him, but instead attempted to defuse the sleaze row by ordering his ethics advisor to launch a probe - and only days after he told MPs that the matter had been resolved.
Mr Sunak finally sacked Mr Zahawi the following week after the ethics probe by made it "clear there has been a serious breach of the ministerial code". But the damage had been done, with ex-Tory Cabinet minister Michael Portillo saying at the time that Mr Sunak's failure to sack Mr Zahawi earlier made him look "weak".
"This thing has been in the headlines now for days and days and days and it's been doing terrible damage to the government," he said. "I think he did have an opportunity to get rid of him earlier... It pains me to say this, but I think on the whole it makes Rishi look weak. I think he must have been kicking himself all week that he decided to refer this to an investigation rather than going with a decision straight away."
Suella Braverman survived multiple calls to go before sacking
Rishi Sunak yet again faced calls to punish his then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman in November after she was accused of inciting far-right thugs, who went on to storm the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday.
It came just days after Ms Braverman described homelessness as a "lifestyle choice", which Mr Sunak failed to criticise her, only choosing to distance himself from them. Similarly, two months before the PM failed to say if he agreed with her explosive statement that multiculturalism has "failed" in the UK.
Rishi Sunak faced repeated calls to sack Suella Braverman throughout her controversial stint as Home Secretary (PA)The PM dithered for two days over whether to sack her after the Cenotaph incident. The row erupted after Ms Braverman penned a scathing letter attacking police chiefs, which it emerged she defied No10's orders on. After mounting pressure, he eventually sacked her.
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