Rishi Sunak has defended his decision not to sack a minister who is facing pressure over the use of taxpayer money to cover her legal settlement with an academic.

Science Secretary Michelle Donelan is facing calls to resign after her department covered the £15,000 cost to settle the case after she falsely accused Professor Kate Sang of supporting Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK.

The prime minister told broadcasters he had been “focused on the budget” when asked why Ms Donelan was still in post.

“You will understand I’ve been focused on the budget, but my understanding of this is that Michelle raised some concerns about some articles that had been shared talking about what happened on 7 October,” he said.

“Subsequently to that, those thoughts I think have been clarified and Michelle has withdrawn those concerns.

“With regard to the settlement, it is a long-standing convention stretching back many years, over different governments of all different parties, including Labour, that the government will fund those legal disputes when it relates to government ministers doing their work.”

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Ms Donelan issued a statement on Tuesday in which she admitted there was “no evidence” Prof Sang was a supporter of the militant group.

Afterwards the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) confirmed it had covered the cost of the damages but would not say how much that was.

Tweeted letter

The science secretary faced libel action after she tweeted a letter she had written to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in October, expressing “disgust and outrage” that Prof Sang and another academic, Dr Kamna Patel, had “shared extremist views” and, in Prof Sang’s case, alleged she had expressed sympathy for Hamas after the 7 October attacks in Israel.

The letter followed a tweet by Prof Sang which said “this is disturbing”, and which contained a link to an article by the Guardian newspaper describing the response to the Hamas attacks in the UK, while Dr Patel had retweeted a post describing Israeli actions as “genocide and apartheid”.

Ms Donelan accepted that Prof Sang’s comments referred to the Guardian story in its entirety, and not just the headline, which focused on the Home Office’s crackdown on support for Hamas.

‘Totally insulting’

The cabinet minister’s department revealed it had covered the sum and said on Wednesday there was an “established precedent under multiple administrations that ministers are provided with legal support and representation where matters relate to their conduct and responsibilities as a minister”, adding: “That was the case here.”

But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said taxpayers footing the bill was “totally insulting”.

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Speaking during a visit to a construction site in the City of London on Thursday, Sir Keir told broadcasters: “Most people watching this will be aghast.

“The government is telling them every day that they can’t do any more to help them. People are really struggling to pay their bills, and the government says, ‘We can’t afford to help you anymore’. People know that public services are crumbling.

“And then you’ve got a minister who says something she shouldn’t have said, then has to pick up a legal action and pay damages and costs, and then says, ‘The taxpayer is going to pay for that’.

“Totally insulting. We need a change.”

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