Home Office minister Mike Tapp has been 'reminded of his obligations under the Ministerial Code' but remains in post after a row with the Home Secretary, Downing Street has said.Shabana Mahmood had called for Sir Keir Starmer to sack Mr Tapp and restricted his access to sensitive documents over an article he wrote in The Times on immigration policy, accusing him of breaching the Ministerial Code.Mr Tapp also apologised on Friday for a 'poorly judged' social media post in which he said he had 'seen off the Taliban and taken out terrorists', saying he had deleted it because it 'could be misinterpreted'. But in a rebuke to both Ms Mahmood and Mr Tapp, a Downing Street spokesperson said it was 'not for any individual Secretary of State to determine whether the Ministerial Code has been followed, it is a matter for the Prime Minister alone'.The spokesperson added: 'Mike Tapp has been reminded of his obligations under the Ministerial Code including collective responsibility and procedures relating to the clearance and presentation of government policy.'In his Times article, Mr Tapp, the minister for migration and citizenship, suggested foreign care workers should be exempt from Ms Mahmood's plans to tighten settlement rules.The Home Secretary's current plans would increase the amount of time immigrants have to wait to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from five years to at least 10 and, in many cases, even longer.In his article, Mr Tapp expressed a 'strong belief' that those already working in the UK care system should not have to wait longer to qualify for indefinite leave to remain. Home Office minister Mike Tapp has been 'reminded of his obligations under the Ministerial Code' but remains in post after a row with the Home Secretary, Downing Street has said Shabana Mahmood had called for Sir Keir Starmer to sack Mr Tapp and restricted his access to sensitive documents over an article he wrote in The Times on immigration policy, accusing him of breaching the Ministerial CodeHe wrote that he had been working closely with officials to 'develop a better approach than a blanket retrospective extension from five years to 10 years for everyone'.The article led a Government source to accuse Mr Tapp of 'freelancing on policy', saying he had taken 'proposals that the Home Secretary was working on, and briefed them as his own'.The source accused Mr Tapp of breaching collective responsibility and the Ministerial Code, and claimed the minister had threatened to 'leak sensitive documents' in a tweet defending his actions.Mr Tapp had earlier criticised figures within Government briefing against him, writing on X: 'It's gone from 'he broke the ministerial code' to 'he stole my idea'.'I have put my views across on a policy I've been working on for months (I have the receipts) in an Op Ed in The Times. Give it a read, and let's continue to discuss.'I won't be intimidated to drop my views. Stay classy!' In a separate post, which he then deleted, Mr Tapp dismissed 'attempted intimidation' and, referring to his military service, added: 'I've seen off the Taliban and taken out terrorists.'He later apologised, saying the post was 'poorly judged'.He said: 'I realised very quickly that it could be misinterpreted and so I deleted it immediately.'I apologise wholeheartedly for any offence I may have caused.'I have a lot of respect for the Home Secretary and will continue working hard for our country.' Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to the media outside 10 Downing Street to announce his resignation in London, MondayMs Mahmood also banned Mr Tapp from meetings, making him get specific approval to participate in departmental business after the PM ignored her demands to sack him.She has accused Mr Tapp of taking a compromise idea on citizenship rights that was being worked on behind the scenes, and portraying it as his own in a bid to secure a job under Andy Burnham. It is understood all of Mr Tapp's requests for documents and meetings will now have to be approved by the Home Secretary. A Government source said: 'Mike Tapp wrote a piece in a national newspaper freelancing on policy without the knowledge or agreement of the Home Secretary or her team.'He took proposals that the Home Secretary was working on, and briefed them as his own.'In doing so, he has broken collective responsibility and has breached the Ministerial Code. Now is he threatening to leak sensitive documents. The Home Secretary has asked the Prime Minister to sack him.'The Dover & Deal MP has been among Sir Keir's few vocal champions, while the outgoing premier's allies regard Ms Mahmood as having betrayed him by urging him to set a departure timetable.She has been tipped to become Chancellor under Andy Burnham, who is on track to take over in No10 on July 17. Sir Keir came close to sacking the Home Secretary last month, before realising it could collapse his Government.The extraordinary standoff underlines the chaotic situation in Labour, with the PM retaining elements of control despite power having drained away.Sir Keir is also adamant he will publish the crucial Defence Investment Plan before a Nato summit on July 7, despite Mr Burnham's team wanting to wait until he is in place.In his article for The Times, Mr Tapp said he had been working to 'develop a better approach than a blanket retrospective extension from five years to ten years for everyone'.He wrote: 'It is my strong belief that those who have come to the United Kingdom on care worker visas who have played by the rules and have genuinely contributed to our care system should not be required to wait longer to apply for settlement. That is the issue I am working hard to address.'He said that the exemptions to the ILR changes would apply to all those who came on the health and care visa route, which saw a total of 616,266 issued between 2022 and 2024. More than half of them were family members of workers, known as dependants.Analysis by the Home Office and its migration advisory committee has estimated that about 200,000 care workers and their dependants will apply for permanent settlement between now and 2030 if the five-year route remains unchanged.The Home Office told reporters that Mr Tapp 'is expected to be sacked for breaching the Ministerial Code'.But No10 said Mr Tapp 'remains in post'. Insiders suggested any breach of the ministerial code would not be serious enough to remove him.The PM's official spokesman told reporters he was 'taking advice in the usual way', adding that it was ultimately up to Sir Keir whether Mr Tapp's actions would be considered a breach of the code.Pressed whether Sir Keir agreed with the substance of Mr Tapp's article, the spokesman described his words as indicative of ideas the Home Office was 'exploring', but said it represented only the minister's personal views.Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: 'Mike Tapp is wrong. People who were allowed into the UK temporarily to work should not be allowed to stay forever unless they are in high wage jobs. 'If they are not in high-wage jobs then they shoud be required to leave at the end of their visa. We have nine million economically inactive adults here. 'We should reform welfare to get some of them into work instead of allowing low wage migrants to stay in the UK forever. 'We'll soon find out if Andy Burnham has the courage to stand up to his left-wing open-borders MPs, or if he weakly capitulates like Mike Tapp.' Touring broadcast studios for the Government this morning, justice minister Jake Richards said it was up to the PM whether to sack Mr Tapp.'The Prime Minister makes decisions as to whether the ministerial code or collective responsibility is broken,' he said.'Mike is a friend of mine, he's someone who served his country before coming into Parliament, he's someone I have an enormous amount of respect for.'My view is that, as a very junior minister myself, we work as a team and I would always work with my Secretary of State, and if my Secretary of State was Shabana Mahmood, that would be even more so, because she's a formidable Home Secretary.'