Mike Tapp has left his post as Home Office minister for migration and citizenship, weeks after a public row with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood over her proposed reforms to indefinite leave to remain rules. The MP for Dover and Deal had reportedly pushed for care workers to be exempted from the changes, prompting a dispute that Downing Street had to intervene in, resisting Mahmood's call to sack him at the time. His departure highlights continuing friction within the government over migration policy as Sir Keir Starmer's administration navigates the issue.

Announcing the move on X, Tapp said he was "disappointed to be leaving government" but insisted he had "no regrets remaining loyal to Keir Starmer until the end." He pointed to achievements including the Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme, visa pauses and improvements to the Windrush Compensation Scheme, while acknowledging that although net migration is falling, "there is still much more to do." He said he would continue to serve as a backbench MP, drawing on his national security background, and Downing Street has not yet named his successor.