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Braverman attempts a cover up.

(290 Posts)
Wyllow3 Sun 21-May-23 23:27:14

She asked her civil servants to try two things after speeding

1. to arrange a completely safety private course to avoid being reported

2. then she asked to be entered for a course anonymously.

They refused as it was not in their remit.

So she took the points.

This was reported widely as in including the Guardian and the Mail, but its become an issue for two reasons

the attempted cover up
and asking civil servants to collude with the cover up.

Its the second which in my mind is possibly the most reprehensible.

Both speak to her character however - "I am different, I am better, I can be above the law. (and I want to hide my wrong-doings)

Hopefully, another nail in the coffin, tho unlikely to be a sackable offence?

Vanillasky Mon 22-May-23 03:42:54

1. Was it really to avoid being reported or just to go privately to save time and get it done?
2. Could that be for security reasons?
3. She accepted the points, fair enough.

I've no idea either way, and have no opinion really, but why was she speeding in the first place? Aren't all top politicians driven around by chauffeurs in cars?

Vanillasky Mon 22-May-23 03:53:09

(Hopefully she wasn't in a "catastrophic chase"!) grin

NotSpaghetti Mon 22-May-23 04:27:06

I expect she will wriggle out of any further consequences.

"Nothing to see here". 🙄

Ailidh Mon 22-May-23 06:03:12

Not a fan of SB.

Not a fan of speeding.

Not hugely moved that she wanted to do the course anonymously - it's not as though she tried to duck out of the penalty.

Not a fan of the constant trial by media that dominates our culture.

GrannyGravy13 Mon 22-May-23 06:54:27

Ailidh that about sums up how I feel.

Casdon Mon 22-May-23 07:12:17

The character revealing element of this hasn’t been mentioned yet, as when the civil servants told her it wasn’t in their remit, she told her political aide to see if she could do the awareness course in private, which they did and were refused. Her speeding was a private matter, not government business, and she got somebody else to do the dirty work for her. That is not acceptable by any standards.

growstuff Mon 22-May-23 08:10:41

Ailidh

Not a fan of SB.

Not a fan of speeding.

Not hugely moved that she wanted to do the course anonymously - it's not as though she tried to duck out of the penalty.

Not a fan of the constant trial by media that dominates our culture.

I agree to an extent for most people. However, with MPs, they are accountable to the public, so should be subjected to public scrutiny. In any case, I suspect this is a case of "trial" by backbench Conservative MPs.

The original speeding conviction was hardly the crime of the century, but the attempted cover up and Braverman's pattern of behaviour are causing her problems.

Wyllow3 Mon 22-May-23 08:15:56

She could have actually made it into the opposite, as in "mea culpa", attend the course publicly, and tho there might have been a bit of publicity, "virtue signalled" and made a point of saying how bad she realised speeding was.

but no - she tried to hide it. And got public servants to try.
"Convenience?" My hat.

growstuff Mon 22-May-23 08:39:28

I agree with you absolutely Wyllow. She could have benefited from being seen as an ordinary person.

Whitewavemark2 Mon 22-May-23 09:17:01

She has form. Got the sack previously for dodgy behaviour. Rules aren’t for Braverman.

Primrose53 Mon 22-May-23 09:19:00

Ailidh

Not a fan of SB.

Not a fan of speeding.

Not hugely moved that she wanted to do the course anonymously - it's not as though she tried to duck out of the penalty.

Not a fan of the constant trial by media that dominates our culture.

All she did was ask a question!

It’s also a trial by the opposition who will do everything in their power to get rid of people like Priti Patel and Suella Bravermann who are trying to carry out their jobs and sort out the boat people problem. They really are the nasty party despite Corbyn, in his day, claiming Labour were the nicer and kinder party.

Whitewavemark2 Mon 22-May-23 09:20:31

And I definitely do think that miscreant behaviour by our rule makers must without exception always be reported in the media.

It is always in the public interest to do so.

Whitewavemark2 Mon 22-May-23 09:22:52

Primrose53

Ailidh

Not a fan of SB.

Not a fan of speeding.

Not hugely moved that she wanted to do the course anonymously - it's not as though she tried to duck out of the penalty.

Not a fan of the constant trial by media that dominates our culture.

All she did was ask a question!

It’s also a trial by the opposition who will do everything in their power to get rid of people like Priti Patel and Suella Bravermann who are trying to carry out their jobs and sort out the boat people problem. They really are the nasty party despite Corbyn, in his day, claiming Labour were the nicer and kinder party.

Then I am also nasty.

I think ALL misbehaviour must be reported in the public interest, whatever political colour.

I seem to remember Patel’s behaviour was not without blemish either.

luluaugust Mon 22-May-23 09:27:41

I thought she asked because she has protection people as a Minister and was trying to work out how to take them all with her to an awareness course. In the end she paid a fine and took the points which will affect her insurance.

growstuff Mon 22-May-23 09:29:54

Primrose53

Ailidh

Not a fan of SB.

Not a fan of speeding.

Not hugely moved that she wanted to do the course anonymously - it's not as though she tried to duck out of the penalty.

Not a fan of the constant trial by media that dominates our culture.

All she did was ask a question!

It’s also a trial by the opposition who will do everything in their power to get rid of people like Priti Patel and Suella Bravermann who are trying to carry out their jobs and sort out the boat people problem. They really are the nasty party despite Corbyn, in his day, claiming Labour were the nicer and kinder party.

Ironically, Priti Patel has now started criticising Braverman.

This isn't about her speeding fine. It's about Conservative internal politics and trying to save the next election.

It doesn't help Braverman's case that she isn't up to the job and is already on her "second (or is it third) chance".

Germanshepherdsmum Mon 22-May-23 09:32:05

I can understand why she would want to attend a private course - there would be a security issue for a start, she couldn’t attend without bodyguards. When that turned out not to be possible she paid the fine and took the points. Speeding is a common enough offence. Misbehaviour? Miscreant behaviour? Come on!

growstuff Mon 22-May-23 09:32:29

The opposition doesn't need to do anything! The Conservatives are quite capable of destroying themselves. Escalating a relatively minor motoring offence into a reason for sacking is all Braverman's own doing and shows how poor her judgment is.

growstuff Mon 22-May-23 09:33:06

Germanshepherdsmum

I can understand why she would want to attend a private course - there would be a security issue for a start, she couldn’t attend without bodyguards. When that turned out not to be possible she paid the fine and took the points. Speeding is a common enough offence. Misbehaviour? Miscreant behaviour? Come on!

What security issue? She could have done the course online.

growstuff Mon 22-May-23 09:35:40

luluaugust

I thought she asked because she has protection people as a Minister and was trying to work out how to take them all with her to an awareness course. In the end she paid a fine and took the points which will affect her insurance.

Where did you get that idea from?

She could have done the course online from anywhere with an internet connection. Nobody would have known where she was.

Dinahmo Mon 22-May-23 09:36:55

Now she wants to get out from attending the final reading of the small boats bill.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/may/21/suella-braverman-tried-to-get-out-of-final-vote-on-small-boats-bill

NorthowramGran Mon 22-May-23 09:38:01

No security issue. I did a course online last year, no one knew my full name other than the course leader.

seadragon Mon 22-May-23 09:38:47

This feels to me like clutching at straws. We all know speeding is against the law and potentially dangerous but have caught ourselves doing it for various reasons. I received a parking ticket as a social worker having given a relative a lift from the hospital where I worked to the Social Security Office to help her record her mothers death and claim the death benefit etc. She had made an urgent journey from another town to her mum's bedside. I could not drop her off as she was very upset, had a walking disability, did not have her disability badge with her and the office was at the top of the building so I had no choice really but to park in the 'disabled access' bay. She assured me that she could send me details of her badge which she duly did. However It cut no ice with the police and, although I appealed the inevitable ticket with explanations - permission given - and details of the badge duly provided I had to pay a huge fine. I know I went back to the office when I first got the ticket and sounded off about it all, especially when I had to pay the fine. This could well have been the kind of scenario Ms Braverman found herself in where she went back to the office and sounded off about the ticket - inappropriate in her position maybe but also only human - which has been tweeked to agitate the electorate. Don't get me wrong I am horrified by the woman's general attitudes, actions and opinions but this episode is very small potatoes in comparison to her general behaviour and smacks of desperation to me.

Whitewavemark2 Mon 22-May-23 09:39:31

Reading all the headlines today, it seems clear as growmore suggested, that No 10 has distanced itself from Braverman, and her incompetence.

She was wrong asking civil servants to help her over what was a private matter. That is not their job and to put them into such an invidious position is unfair.

Casdon Mon 22-May-23 09:41:33

Germanshepherdsmum

I can understand why she would want to attend a private course - there would be a security issue for a start, she couldn’t attend without bodyguards. When that turned out not to be possible she paid the fine and took the points. Speeding is a common enough offence. Misbehaviour? Miscreant behaviour? Come on!

In my opinion that’s not what the issue is though, it’s getting others to sort it out rather than dealing with it herself. They are not her personal servants. Nobody judges people who get speeding fines harshly, it’s just one of those things many of us have to deal with, and she has done herself no favours by her entitled behaviour when she could have just dealt with it.