May takes some hits, but looks safe for now

David Cameron provided a reassuring presence for the Home Secretary today, sitting supportively next to her throughout her statement and Yvette Cooper’s response. May, who didn’t sound or look like someone who thinks their career is in danger, stressed that she “did not give my consent or authorisation to any of these actions”. But she had to concede that we’ll never know how many people came in who shouldn’t have because of the relaxation of checks on those arriving in this country.

In an aggressive reply, Yvette Cooper demanded that the various inquiries May has set up report much earlier than the New Year. She also said that she had been warned by UKBA staff that the shredders were running there and that there was a ban on internal email.  Cooper, who would have no hesitation in scalping any Tory, finished by telling the Home Secretary “she needs to get a grip and stop passing the buck”.

May responded by deploring the partisan tone of Cooper’s remarks: “I must say I regret that statement from the shadow Home Secretary”. This was a sign that Cooper had scored some hits. As a rule, ministers only want to take the politics out of a situation when they are unfavourable to them.

But, for the moment, May seems safe. What David Blunkett knowingly called the “ministerial graveyard” of the Home Office is still a way from claiming another victim.