Nadine Dorries has been told the Government considers her in breach of ministerial rules by failing to provide it with a pre-publication transcript of her new book on Boris Johnson’s downfall.
The former culture secretary accused the Cabinet Office of trying to block the November 9 release after she refused to share a copy with the department, the Daily Mail reported.
Under the Radcliffe rules, ministers should relinquish all Government material when ceasing to hold a role.
Former ministers intending to publish memoirs are also required to “submit the draft manuscript in good time before publication to the Cabinet Secretary.”
The Plot: The Political Assassination of Boris Johnson
But Ms Dorries said that The Plot: The Political Assassination of Boris Johnson is “not a memoir in any remote sense of the word and has zero to do with policy or official secrets”.
She did not want to share a transcript on the grounds that Cabinet Secretary Simon Case – who is criticised in the book – would have the power to vet its contents, the Mail reported. After receiving legal advice, she refused to do so, Ms Dorries said.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “This book was not submitted to the Cabinet Office for review, and so the author is in breach of the Radcliffe Rules.”
According to the Mail, Ms Dorries was received a letter from the department on the eve of the serialisation of her book in the paper, reading: “As we have received no transcript of your book from you or your publisher, after a number of requests, we have no option but to consider you in breach of the Radcliffe Rules.
“We have to inform you that this may be taken into account should you find yourself under consideration in the future for an honour (including a peerage) or for a public appointment.”
Serialised leaks
Ms Dorries dramatically quit as an MP earlier this year after she was denied a peerage in Mr Johnson’s resignation honours.
Her book had been scheduled for release on September 28 – shortly before the start of the Conservative Party conference in early October – but publisher HarperCollins later announced the date would be pushed back.
It said the delay had been necessary to “allow for the huge volume of material the author has consulted, the number of high-level sources spoken to, and the required legal process needed to share her story”.
The book is being serialised in the Mail ahead of its expected release on November 9, with the first instalment on Friday devoted to allegations about a “shadowy Tory” figure who has been left anonymous.
It includes references to “alleged arson”, “dirty dossiers” and a rumour about the unnamed individual having an ex-girlfriend’s little brother’s pet rabbit “chopped into four and nailed to the front door of the family home to greet him when he got home from school, in true Mafia style”.
Related: Kuenssberg appears to defend Johnson with widely discredited vaccine claim