Exclusive: Grant Shapps Uses MoD Backdrop When He's Actually Broadcasting From Home

Grant Shapps has been accused of misleading the public after it emerged he broadcasts from home while giving the impression that he is in the Ministry of Defence.

The defence secretary regularly appears on breakfast television against a blue background showing the official MoD logo.

But HuffPost UK can reveal that the minister is actually sitting in a room at his home in Hertfordshire.

The cabinet minister uses a temporary backdrop, with a Union Jack flag, so it looks like he is in his Whitehall department.

One TV insider said Shapps was being “disingenuous” by giving the impression of being in the office when he is not.

Labour drew comparisons with Shapps previously being caught out using aliases, including Michael Green, during his business career.

A source said: “The public will be astounded to learn that the man with a track record of assuming false identities is pulling the wool over their eyes again.

“While Michael Green uses army backdrops to talk tough on the telly, his Tory government’s legacy is cutting the Army to its smallest size since Napoleon.” 

Before he became defence secretary, Shapps had no qualms about being shown broadcasting from his study, complete with his ministerial red box behind him.

In 2020, he was mocked by LBC’s Nick Ferrari for urging people to get back to their offices after lockdown while working from home himself.

The presenter told Shapps: “I’m sitting in my studio in central London. Unless I am mistaken you are in your study in Hertfordshire.

“So I am back to work, Secretary of State you are not. Why?”

Shapps replied: “That is true. For this morning’s round [of interviews] this works very well.”