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Suella Braverman has been accused of stirring “hatred and division” as Rishi Sunak faces calls to sack the home secretary over her incendiary claim that the police are biased.
Ms Braverman’s job is on the line after Downing Street made clear that it had not approved an extraordinary article in which she accused officers of playing favourites over a pro-Palestine march on Armistice Day.
No 10 says it is investigating after it demanded that changes be made to the piece but the request was ignored. As the home secretary’s claims sparked a furious outcry, one Conservative minister broke ranks to accuse her of fuelling “hatred and division”.
Meanwhile George Osborne, the former Tory chancellor, said the prime minister risked looking weak if he decided not to axe Ms Braverman.
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Archie Mitchell reports:
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Archie Mitchell reports:
Should Suella Braverman resign over pro-Palestine march row? Join The Independent Debate
Much has been said and written about Braverman’s incendiary claim in a recent newspaper article that the police are biased in how they deal with protests.
The remarks are the latest in a string of inflammatory comments made by the home secretary, a darling of the Tory right who is tipped as a future leader of the party.
Was Braverman simply stating her true beliefs in the comment piece, which also provoked outrage in Northern Ireland, or was she trying to get sacked so that she could launch a leadership campaign, eventually taking over from Rishi Sunak, should he lose the next election and resign as party leader.
What do you think? If you want to share your opinion then add it in the comments section in the article below and we’ll highlight the most insightful ones as they come in.
All you have to do is sign up and register your details - then you can then take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen:
Braverman spotted leaving home as she faces calls to resign
Under fire home secretary Suella Braverman was spotted leaving her home earlier this morning as she faced calls to resign.
The home secretary, dressed in a shirt and jacket, was seen smiling as she left her home in Hertfordshire, having spent Thursday at hospital with a family member who needed treatment.
Braverman left for work at around 10.15 and did not speak to reporters as she left.
Tory peer Sayeeda Warsi calls for Suella to be sacked ‘again’
Conservative peer Sayeeda Warsi has called for Rishi Sunak to sack Suella Braverman “again” in the national interest, Archie Mitchell reports.
Baroness Warsi said Ms Braverman “needs to focus on her job not her personal political ambitions”.
“She was forced to leave for leaking sensitive documents and should never have been reappointed - she must now be sacked again,” the former Tory chairman added.
Mr Sunak sparked fury when he reappointed Ms Braverman as home secretary just days after she was forced to resign from Liz Truss’s government over a serious security breach.
Right-wing Tories are rallying behind the home secretary
Right-wing Tories have rallied behind the home secretary, warning Rishi Sunak “if you come for her, you come for us”, Archie Mitchell reports.
Suella Braverman’s backers have reminded the prime minister she played a key role in his selection as Tory leader, claiming sacking her will “end very badly for him”.
And they have sought to downplay her remarks as in line with the views of the majority of the country.
Tory MP Miriam Cates mounted a defence of Ms Braverman, telling the BBC her view is “very mainstream in the rest of the UK”.
She said she would "completely disagree" that Ms Braverman was making matters worse with her commentary.
And Ms Cates said we are at a “very serious moment” in British history and instead of talking about Hamas’s terrorist attacks, “we seem to be talking about which version of an article No10 cleared”.
One right-wing Tory MP told the Daily Mail: “There was an operation by the whips to stoke anger against Suella.
“But a large group of MPs on the Right pushed back. The message was simple: ‘Don’t try it, she speaks for us. So if you come for her, you come for us.’”
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Amy-Clare Martin reports:
Suella Braverman must resign now
As we just reported, Dominic Grieve has written a comment piece for The Independent in which he heavily criticises Suella Braverman and calls for her to resign.
You can read the article in full here:
Suella Braverman must resign now - Dominic Grieve
The home secretary has undermined the independence of the police and weaponised Remembrance commemorations for her own political ends. She must not be allowed to represent us at the Cenotaph on Sunday, writes former attorney general Dominic Grieve
Braverman ‘weaponised’ Rememberance Day commemorations for ‘own political ends'
Suella Braverman “weaponised” Remembrance Day commemorations for her “own political ends” and should resign, a former attorney general has said.
Dominic Grieve, the former MP for Beaconsfield, said the home secretary, should not be allowed to “represent us at the Cenotaph on Sunday
In a comment piece for The Independent, Grieve wrote: “This attempted weaponisation shows Braverman to not only be lacking in any understanding of her office or of what freedom under law is about, but to be positively dangerous to the development of common good in our society.
“She is inciting division herself and not acting to calm and curb intemperance and excess, or to modify, by debate, opinions with which she may properly disagree.
“She has sought to create a false narrative that lawfully demonstrating in a march on Armistice Day, about the war in Gaza, is in itself incompatible with being British and part of the collective national remembrance of our war dead.”
Sunak ‘too weak’ to sack Braverman - Reeves
Rishi Sunak is “too weak” to sack Suella Braverman, Labour’s Rachel Reeves has said.
The shadow chancellor described the home secretary’s comments in a recent newspaper article as “reckless and irresponsible”.
“At a time when the government should be working with our police force, the home secretary is undermining them, and when we should be trying to bring communities together Suella Braverman is dividing them.
“And the prime minister seems to be too weak to take the decisive action that is now needed.”
FIle photo: Rachel Reeves
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2023-11-10 12:20:13Z
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