- Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng recently pressured the MPs standards commissioner to resign on TV.
- Doing so is a breach of ministerial rules, but the official who helps enforce them declined to act.
- Christopher Geidt, appointed by Boris Johnson, said Kwarteng's apology was enough to close the matter.
Boris Johnson's independent adviser on ministers' interests refused to investigate a cabinet minister's apparent breach of the ministerial code, Insider can reveal.
Kwasi Kawrteng, the Business Secretary, was subject to complaints by the Labour Party after he gave a TV interview in which he pressured the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to resign.
It suggested that Kwarteng breached the code's requirement to behave in a "respectful" and "appropriate" way towards others, particularly parliamentary staff such as the commissioner, Kathryn Stone.
Kwarteng's intervention, in Sky News interview, came at the nadir of the government's attempt to overhaul the standards regime, led by Stone, and to exempt the Conservative MP Owen Paterson from a looming punishment.
The government later abandoned the plan and Paterson quit as an MP.
Johnson's advisor Christopher Geidt, a member of the House of Lords, is meant to rule on potential breaches. He was presented with Labour's complaint, but, a letter obtained by Insider shows, decided not to take it any further.
The letter is reproduced in full below.
In it, Geidt cited an apology to Stone from Kwarteng, in which he all but admitted breaching the code.
Kwarteng wrote to Stone on Monday, saying: "I recognise that it is incumbent on Ministers to adhere to the high standards of the Ministerial Code, including ensuring that our words are carefully chosen and that we treat others with consideration and respect. I therefore regret if the words I used on this occasion have given the impression of having fallen short of these high standards."
Geidt wrote in his letter to Labour's Angela Rayner that Kwarteng had "taken this opportunity to address his comments. In doing so, he has recognised ministers' obligation under the Code to decide personally how to act and conduct themselves in light of the Code.
"That being so, I am satisfied that there is no need for any further action on my part."
Geidt's refusal to investigate has drawn criticism from the Labour party and the leader of the union representing senior civil servants.
A source close to Rayner told Insider: "Angela is wondering what exactly the point of Lord Geidt is. What is the point of an independent advisor who isn't independent and instead of investigating breaches of the rules just has a private chat with ministers?"
The source asked for anonymity in order to discuss Rayner's thoughts frankly. MPs conventionally do not criticize civil servants on the record.
Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA, previously described Kwarteng's comments as part of an "orchestrated and deliberate attempt" to undermine Stone.
Penman now says Geidt's refusal suggests Kwarteng is evading scrutiny and being held accountable for his actions.
Penman told Insider: "Standards in public life matter and the vitriol directed towards Kathryn Stone over the last few weeks from political leaders in the Conservative party and government is simply unacceptable, with Kwasi Kwarteng's comments standing out as particularly egregious.
"It's only right that Lord Geidt investigates potential breaches of the Ministerial Code, wherever these concerns arise. It would now appear that a tokenistic apology is all it takes for a Minister to evade scrutiny and being held accountable for their actions. What kind of message does that send?"
Geidt has previously refused to investigate other potential breaches of the Ministerial Code, including whether or not Johnson broke rules by using a taxpayer-funded jet to campaign in the Hartlepool by-election.
Read Lord Geidt's letter to Angela Rayner