The UK Cabinet traditionally operates on the principle of collective responsibility. Once a position has been adopted, it is everyone's public position and ever

The UK Cabinet traditionally operates on the principle of collective responsibility. Once a position has been adopted, it is everyone's public position and everyone is responsible for it, even if they disagreed or argued for something else in private. If you're not OK with that, you're expected to resign from the Cabinet, and from time to time people do. A corollary of this is that when any Cabinet minister speaks publicly, they speak on behalf of the government, and they are expected to be able to respond to general media enquiries on matters outside their specific role. They may choose not to respond substantially or to refer the enquiry to a colleague more familiar with the details, and they very often do. If they don't, it is almost certain that they are expressing an agreed Cabinet position and they just happen to be the minister doing the media rounds that day.