Theresa May must apologise over Gove row - Labour

Home Secretary Theresa May is facing Labour calls for a public apology over her part in a row with Education Secretary Michael Gove. Mr Gove has apologised to the prime minister over the briefing war with the home secretary's department. The two sides clashed over how to deal with allegations of a hardline Muslim plot in some Birmingham schools. Mrs May's special adviser has been forced to quit - but Labour says that is not enough. The row between two of the cabinet's biggest hitters overshadowed this week's Queen's Speech - sparking a furious reaction from David Cameron, who ordered an internal investigation to find out who was to blame. Disciplinary matter Mrs May's special adviser Fiona Cunningham was found to have been the source of a negative briefing against Mr Gove and has stood down. Mr Gove has also apologised to Home Office counter-terror chief Charles Farr after comments critical of him appeared in the Times, attributed to a Department for Education source. Foreign Secretary William Hague told the BBC's Andrew Marr show that no further action over the row was needed. "There has been a disciplinary matter within the government which the prime minister has dealt with in a very firm clear way." He said the investigation into the affair by the Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Haywood was "the right thing to do", and that the prime minister was "making sure there is team discipline" within the government. The government was fully focused on "tackling extremism in schools," he added. Fiona Cunningham's resignation is linked to comments made to the Times But Labour's Yvette Cooper said the home secretary still had questions to answer - and may have breached the Ministerial Code over the release of a private letter she had written to Mr Gove criticising his department. Drain the swamp Ms Cooper told Andrew Marr: "In this row we've seen the education secretary apologise, the special adviser to the home secretary resign, but we've so far heard nothing from the home secretary even though it looks pretty clear that she has breached the Ministerial Code by writing and then authorising the publication of this letter. "Well, the prime minister is responsible for enforcing the Ministerial Code, he needs to act and to make sure that that happens, at the same time as making sure they address these more important issues about what's happening in schools and communities." Analysis Two of the government's most senior Conservative ministers are wounded. The home secretary has lost a close and trusted adviser in Fiona Cunningham; the education secretary will face the humiliation tomorrow of appearing before MPs in the Commons after publicly apologising not just to the prime minister, but also to a senior Home Office civil servant he'd criticised. The row between Michael Gove and Theresa May, which had burst into the open in The Times on the morning of the Queen's Speech, angered the prime minister. He will hope his swift response will draw a line under this damaging outbreak of indiscipline at the top of the government. The briefing war began when a source close to Mr Gove spoke to the newspaper over the alleged Birmingham schools plot, accusing the home office of failing to "drain the swamp" of extremism. The "anonymous source" also criticised Mrs May's counter-terrorism adviser, Charles Farr. Home Office official Charles Farr has received an apology from Michael Gove In a response on its website, the Home Office released the letter Mrs May had written to Mr Gove, accusing his department of failing to act when concerns about the Birmingham schools were brought to its attention in 2010. It has now been removed from the site. Ms Cooper has written to the prime minister, along with shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt, calling for an apology from Mrs May - and for the full facts about the row to be published to restore public confidence. The letter says: "What action have you taken in response to a breach of the Ministerial Code by one of your most senior cabinet ministers? "Will the home secretary also be apologising or are some ministers exempt from enforcement of the Ministerial Code? "The best way of ensuring people know the facts is to publish the cabinet secretary's investigation." The shadow ministers add: "We need assurance that the government is addressing the concerns raised around the schools in Birmingham and that the lack of oversight and accountability under the new system for academies will be addressed as a matter of urgency." Special measures The row centred on the alleged plot to infiltrate Birmingham schools but Westminster insiders say it was fuelled by the battle for who will succeed David Cameron as Conservative leader when he steps down.
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