Priti Patel

Few politicians come with a reputation as controversial or fierce as Priti Patel’s. Ian Birrell talks to insiders to find out what lies behind that uncompromising image. Soon after Tony Blair won his second landslide election victory, the Daily Telegraph interviewed five women to ask why they wanted to become MPs for the stale, male and moribund Tory […]

Home secretary Priti Patel appeared to spark more confusion with an appearance on This Morning alongside Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. The minister appeared confused about coronavirus rules once more as she stressed the importance of exercising alone. The guidance makes clear that in England someone is allowed to exercise outdoors with one other person from […]

Home secretary Priti Patel has said that “outdoor recreation” is permitted in a “restricted and limited way” – despite it being prohibited during the lockdown. Moments after insisting the coronavirus rules are “actually very simple and clear”,  Patel apparently misspoke during a Downing Street press conference when trying to explain that exercise is permitted. She […]

Television and radio presenter Graham Norton has criticised home secretary Priti Patel – claiming “it’s extraordinary she’s in charge of anything”. The chat show host and Eurovision commentator lambasted the Tory minister, along with Boris Johnson, comparing Patel to a lunch monitor. Asked by the Sunday Times to give three words to sum up Boris Johnson, […]

Home Secretary Priti Patel will host a Downing Street press conference at 5pm, her first since May last year. This would be the first time Patel addressed the nation since May 22. During a previous appearance in April, Patel drew criticism for refusing to apologise for reports of failure to provide PPE to frontline NHS […]

A senior Tory MP has criticised Priti Patel’s “inhuman” approach to immigration. In an interview with the Independent, former minister Caroline Nokes accused ministers of “paying lip service” to Wendy Williams’ Lessons Learned report on the Windrush scandal, which occurred while she was in office. The Tory MP for Romsey and Southampton North said ministers […]

Home secretary Priti Patel has faced a torrent of criticism after failing to boldly denounce Donald Trump over inciting riots in the US capital overnight. Patel avoided Trump’s name in her condemnation of the riots despite the president having instructed protesters to march on the capital. Sky News’ Niall Paterson caught the minister out, telling her […]

Home secretary Priti Patel has been accused of leaving the “nation’s doors unlocked” to alarming new coronavirus variants amid calls to strengthen border protections. Ministers were considering introducing a requirement for international arrivals to have a negative coronavirus test before travelling to Britain in order to tackle surging cases. But Labour joined some senior Tory MPs […]

Home secretary Priti Patel insisted the Brexit deal will help make the UK safer, despite police chiefs’ concerns about lack of access to a key EU information database. The deal allows the two sides to co-operate on security and policing issues, but Brussels said the UK will no longer have “direct, real-time access” to sensitive […]

Home secretary Priti Patel appeared to admit in television interviews that the numbers of lorries stuck in Kent waiting to cross to France is far greater than the numbers quoted by transport secretary Grant Shapps. More than 40 countries have banned flights from the UK due to a mutant variant of coronavirus spreading through the […]

Home secretary Priti Patel caused a legal storm with an “ill-advised” tweet about the deaths of 39 migrants while the people-smuggling trial was going on. On October 23, the anniversary of the tragedy, Patel’s Twitter account posted: “One year ago today, 39 people lost their lives in horrific circumstances at the hands of ruthless criminals. […]

Footage of Priti Patel being schooled on her support for the death penalty by Ian Hislop has resurfaced on social media. In the clip from 2011, Patel is seen clashing with Private Eye editor over the use of the death penalty in innocent cases. Debating the reintroduction of capital punishment on Question Time, Hislop said: “For 50 years, Private […]

Home secretary Priti Patel has said there have been “many, many changes” at the Home Office after the inquiry into claims that she bullied civil servants working for her. An investigation by the prime minister’s adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Alex Allan, last month concluded that her behaviour towards staff could be described as bullying, […]

Priti Patel has sparred with a Sky News presenter after he suggested Britain could be “less safe” after Brexit. The home secretary threw aside claims Britain’s security and intelligence operations would be jeopardised by a no-deal Brexit. She appeared on Sky News to assuage concerns. Presenter Niall Paterson asked: “As things stand we do not […]

Priti Patel has claimed Labour “stands up for the murderers, rapists, sex offenders” after she was taunted by the opposition over a report which said she had bullied staff. Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds praised police officers for visiting schools to promote anti-bullying messages, before pointing out: “We have a home secretary in office […]

A charity that advocates for migrant rights’ has launched legal action against Priti Patel arguing the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) causes unlawful discrimination. The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) is calling on the home secretary to scrap or at least extend the scheme beyond June 2021.   They warn failure to do so could result in tens of thousands EU nationals losing […]

Windrush victims have hit out at home secretary Priti Patel after she said conflating them with criminals who are being deported was “not only misjudged and upsetting but deeply offensive”. Glenda Caesar, 59, who lost her job as a GP administrator when the Home Office wrongly decided she had no right to work in the […]

Hands up, TNE readers, if you thought Johnson would sack Patel. No takers? Hands up if you knew he wouldn’t but thought he should. Full house, I suspect. Repeat the process with the Brexit questions. Hands up if you think: we’ll be better off economically and our influence in the world will increase; we’ll be […]

Boris Johnson’s response to the Priti Patel bullying scandal has laid bare the weaknesses in the way Westminster is run, says JAMES BALL. As a country, those of us in the UK may have to accept we are somewhat slow on the uptake. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than when it comes to our […]

A Telegraph columnist has been heavily criticised after suggesting Priti Patel was too short to be a bully. Allison Pearson caused a stir online when she published her latest Telegraph column blasting allegations of bullying against home secretary Patel. The article comes after prime minister Boris Johnson swept aside findings by his chief adviser on […]

TIM WALKER on the MP sent out to defend the home secretary, plus… Johnson’s latest outside earnings and Rupert Murdoch’s cabinet favourites. ‘Time for a pointless sacrifice, Tony’ Boris Johnson may have expressed his “full confidence” in Priti Patel after she was found to have broken the ministerial code in relation to workplace bullying, but he was not of […]

Boris Johnson has been swiftly condemned after failing to dismiss Priti Patel over allegations of bullying staff were proven to be true. Politicians and public figures have come out to criticise the prime minister over failing to dismiss Patel after it was proven she had broken the ministerial code of conduct in her treatment of staff. […]

The government has been ridiculed after releasing an anti-bullying video in the same week one of its senior ministers faces disciplinary actions over allegations of bullying staff. The Department for Education is at the centre of a Twitter storm following the release of a video condemning bullying in UK schools. The 80-second clip posted on […]

A conservative commentator has sparked a row after suggesting reactions to allegations of bullying against Priti Patel should be taken with a “pinch of salt”. Vote Leave activist Darren Grimes provoked a tense exchange of opinions online after he claimed the “Left” were unfairly targeting Patel.  Allies of the home secretary have denied the allegations which were leaked in […]

A Tory minister has sought to defend Priti Patel against allegations of bullying by suggesting civil servants have misunderstood her work ethic. James Cleverly, the minister for Africa and the Middle East, sought to dismiss the accusations by intimating that Patel had only wanted her team to “work hard”. The comment comes after an inquiry by […]

Health secretary Matt Hancock has been criticised for failing to ‘condemn somebody who is a potential bully’.  Hancock was asked about a leaked copy of a report on allegations of bullying by home secretary Priti Patel. The minister was appearing on Kay Burley’s breakfast programme when he was asked about the claims from Downing Street […]

A long-awaited investigation into allegations of bullying by Priti Patel must be published without delay, Labour has demanded amid reports it found she broke the rules for ministers. A draft report last summer found the home secretary had breached the requirements in the ministerial code to treat civil servants with consideration and respect – although […]

Labour has demanded that a report into allegations of bullying from Priti Patel should be published in full amid reports Boris Johnson will ‘fudge’ the outcome by issuing a written warning. The Financial Times said that the probe would be concluded “imminently” but that Johnson would only issue Patel with a written warning, rather than dismissing […]

The Lord Chancellor has said “activist lawyers” have helped undermine the legal profession’s reputation and accused some of playing up their political leanings on social media to tout for work. Robert Buckland refused to reprimand Boris Johnson and Priti Patel for referring to those aiding asylum and refugee seekers as “lefty lawyers” at the Conservative Party […]

The former head of the civil service has suggested an investigation commissioned eight months ago into allegations of bullying by home secretary Priti Patel is yet to conclude because the prime minister is yet to “make a decision” on it. Lord Sedwill told MPs that a review into what happened in the Home Office was […]

An Australian lawyer has slammed Priti Patel for appearing to copy her country’s asylum seeker policy, adding that any “decent” country would not process refugees offshore. Madeline Gleeson, a human rights lawyer, said the move to copy Australia’s immigration policy was “deeply concerning” and warned Westminster MPs against following suit. Gleeson’s comment comes after leaked documents showed the […]

An adviser to Boris Johnson has called for the report into allegations of bullying by Priti Patel should be made public. Lord Evans of Weardale, the former head of MI5 and now adviser on standards in public life, said not revealing the report risks undermining voters’ trusts and would suggest the issue was “brushed over”. […]