Rishi Sunak has once again dodged questions over whether officials warned him not to reappoint Suellla Braverman as home secretary.
Braverman resigned from the job last week when Liz Truss was prime minister after admitting breaching security rules.
She was caught sending a Tory backbencher a sensitive document from a personal email account.
Despite this, Sunak brought her back when he assembled his new cabinet on Tuesday.
According to The Sun, Braverman had leaked secret government plans to introduce a “growth visa”.
Asked directly on Friday whether government officials had warned him not to bring her back, Sunak did not deny it.
“The home secretary has acknowledged the mistake, she’s recognised she made a mistake, she’s taken accountability for that and that’s the right thing,” he said.
“She raised this topic with me when I discussed reappointing her as home secretary and I’m confident that she’s learned from her mistake.”
He insisted he does not regret the appointment, saying: “No, as I have said, she’s accepted her mistake and learned from it, and I’m confident of that.”
The prime minister added the Conservative Party was “united” as he comes towards the end of his first week in office.
Keir Starmer has accused Sunak of doing a “grubby deal” with Braverman, suggesting he gave her back the Home Office in exchange for her support in the leadership contest.
Braverman’s decision to back Sunak rather than Boris Johnson last weekend was seen as a pivotal moment in battle to replace Truss.