Prime Minister Keir Starmer has refused a request from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to dismiss Immigration Minister Mike Tapp, escalating a dispute within the government over immigration policy and ministerial conduct. The conflict arose after Mr. Tapp published an article in The Times advocating for foreign care workers to be exempted from Mahmood's new immigration crackdown.
Sources close to Mahmood accused Tapp of disloyalty, alleging that he had appropriated policy ideas she was considering and presented them as his own to gain favor with potential future administrations. Mahmood believes Tapp's article violates the Ministerial Code's requirement for collective responsibility.
The Home Office initially indicated that Tapp would be sacked for breaching the code. However, No. 10 Downing Street stated that Tapp, who has publicly supported Starmer, remains in his post. The Prime Minister is reportedly displeased with Mahmood following her reported suggestion that he resign after recent poor local election results.
Sources within Whitehall indicated that Tapp had not been referred to the Prime Minister's adviser on the Ministerial Code, Sir Lawrie Magnus, with Starmer himself being the ultimate arbiter of the code.
Shadower Home Secretary Chris Philp criticized the situation, stating, "The Labour government has descended into chaos and infighting - with Shabana Mahmood’s junior minister openly defying her in a brazen attempt to get a place in Burnham’s cabinet." He added, "There is not a single thought for the national interest here. All these Labour ministers care about is their own personal ambition and jockeying for government jobs. It’s beneath contempt."
Andy Burnham has indicated support for Mahmood's overall aims to control immigration, but faces pressure from within the Labour party to soften her proposed changes. These changes include extending the required residency period for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from five years to ten years for migrants who arrived after the pandemic.
In his article, Tapp argued against a blanket retrospective extension of the ILR period, stating, "It is my strong belief that those who have come to the United Kingdom on care worker visas who have played by the rules and have genuinely contributed to our care system should not be required to wait longer to apply for settlement." He specified that exemptions should apply to individuals on the health and care visa route, which saw over 616,000 visas issued between 2022 and 2024, with a significant portion being dependants of workers.
Home Office analysis suggests that approximately 200,000 care workers and their dependants could apply for permanent settlement by 2030 if the current five-year route remains unchanged.
Mr. Tapp was approached for comment but did not respond.