Angela Rayner has torn into Suella Braverman, asking a Tory minister: “How many strikes before she is out?”
The Labour deputy leader said the public expects rule-makers to follow the rules, especially someone “responsible for upholding the law”.
Rayner asked an urgent question in the Commons on Tuesday following reports that Braverman asked civil servants to help her avoid a fine for speeding last summer.
The home secretary has said she regretted speeding but insisted she did not try to avoid sanction. But on Monday she ducked and dived a series of straight questions on whether she asked civil servants to arrange a private driving awareness course.
Rayner asked cabinet office minister Jeremy Quin to confirm whether the home secretary did or did not ask civil servants for help on the matter.
The senior Labour MP went on: “After days of dither and delay…the prime minister still hasn’t decided whether there should be an investigation by his ethics adviser.
“When can we expect to know what the prime minister is thinking on this matter?”
Referring to Braverman’s previous breach of the ministerial code back in October, she added: “As ministers know, the home secretary has already admitted to breach in the ministerial code by using personal emails to share sensitive government information.
“So I ask the minister today, how many strikes before she is out?”
Minister Quin said he was not “going to get into speculation about the events in question”, saying the PM is “gathering the information”.
“What you know of the prime minister is that he will deal with these issues properly and professionally, but the first point of that is to gather the information required on which he can take a view.”
Quin would not expand on what the home secretary had done, insisting he needed time to receive “relevant information on this matter”.
He told the Commons: “Since returning from the G7, the prime minister has met both the independent adviser and the home secretary and asked for further information.
“It is right that the prime minister, as the head of the executive and the arbiter of the ministerial code, be allowed time to receive relevant information on this matter.
“Honourable members will be updated on this in due course.”