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Priti Patel is involved in a bitter coronavirus clash with Yvette Cooper of Labor, who accused the home secretary of avoiding parliamentary scrutiny.
But in a furious exchange of letters Mrs. Patel has accused Ms Cooper, who chairs the House of Commons Committee on Internal Affairs, of being an “adversary” and wasting the time of public officials during the coronavirus crisis.
The dispute is over Ms. Cooper’s demands, in no less than six letters, for the home secretary to appear before her committee to answer questions about the role of the Home Office in the fight. COVID-19.
Yvette Cooper has written to Patel six times
The accusation against Ms. Patel of evading scrutiny occurs as her non-appearance, so far, in any of Downing Street’s daily coronavirus briefings is also criticized, given the key role of the Home Office.
There will also be a suspicion that Ms. Patel does not want to appear before Ms. Cooper’s committee because she will be asked about accusations of intimidation and the resignation of her former permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry. Sir Philip Rutnam.
Patel vigorously denies all allegations against him, which are still the subject of an ongoing Whitehall investigation.
Ms. Cooper says that MPs want to question Ms. Patel about the problems arising from the coronavirus crisis; such as domestic violence, law enforcement and surveillance, evidence and personal protective equipment for front-line staff and quarantine arrangements.
But Patel angrily told Cooper: “I am disappointed by the increasingly conflicting tone of our exchanges and I regret that you have rejected my offer of regular briefings with officials and ministers at the Interior Ministry.
“I feel that my proposal strikes an important balance between ensuring that the department receives that vital scrutiny, while ensuring that the committee can receive operationally sensitive and sometimes classified updates at this time of national emergency.
“As I have told you before, I am absolutely committed to ensuring that the Home Office is better open to scrutiny and transparency.
“But I am aware of the need to give the Home Office staff members the time and space they need to carry out their essential duty of keeping the British public safe during this national crisis.”
“However, I will make myself and my permanent secretaries available for a session with the committee, about our response to COVID-19, towards the end of the month.”
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But the end of the month is not good enough, according to Ms. Cooper, who wants the committee to question the secretary of the interior next week, April 15, before the Commons sit down again after Easter on April, the 21st.
“We believe there is no reason for a delay beyond this date given the importance of timely public information about the Interior Ministry’s response to the coronavirus,” Cooper wrote in his latest letter.
He added that his committee wants Ms. Patel and the new permanent secretary, the chief public official of the Interior Ministry, “to provide public information, answer urgent questions and provide any reassurance that is necessary for the Interior Ministry to adequately handle this crisis. “
Cooper wrote: “These are urgent problems with serious consequences for the spread of disease and public safety, which for the most part are not operationally sensitive or classified and about which public information is needed.”
Since becoming the home secretary last July, Ms. Patel has clashed multiple times with Ms. Cooper, who has a reputation as a formidable committee chair.
