New Delhi: In a major reshuffle Monday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak dismissed Home Secretary Suella Braverman, while appointing David Cameron as foreign secretary, bringing him back to frontline politics after seven years.
Sunak sacked Braverman after facing sharp criticism from his colleagues, the Opposition, as well as the public over her comments in a newspaper article criticising the police’s “biased” attitude towards pro-Palestinian marches in the country.
Downing Street has named James Cleverly, the former foreign secretary, as the country’s new home secretary, while Clerverly’s old position was given to Cameron. Cameron had resigned as Prime Minister in 2016, after failing to stop Brexit — UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. With the vote in favour of the move took place in 2016, the country’s actual exit from the bloc happened in January 2020.
In a statement issued Monday, Cameron said, “Though I may have disagreed with some individual decisions, it is clear to me that Rishi Sunak is a strong and capable prime minister.”
He added he had “gladly accepted” the post of foreign secretary as UK was “facing a daunting set of international challenges, including the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East”.
“At this time of profound global change, it has rarely been more important for this country to stand by our allies, strengthen our partnerships and make sure our voice is heard,” he said.
‘More to say in due course’
Braverman’s departure from the UK cabinet was expected after her article in The Times last week drew sharp criticism.
“Right-wing and nationalist protesters who engage in aggression are rightly met with a stern response yet pro-Palestinian mobs displaying almost identical behaviour are largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law,” she wrote.
The piece, where Braverman accused London’s Metropolitan Police of playing “favourites”, had not been cleared by Downing Street, nor were changes requested by the Prime Minister’s office made, the government said the next day.
Braverman had also compared pro-Palestinian protests with scenes seen in Northern Ireland during “the troubles”, a period of internal conflict from the 1960s to 1998.
Her scathing comments came after Metropolitan police commissioner, Mark Rowley, said there were insufficient grounds to ban an impending pro-Palestine march on 11 November, even though it coincided with Armistice Day, which marks the day an agreement was signed between the Allies and Germany to end World War I.
After she was asked to leave, Braverman called her time as home secretary the “greatest privilege of my life”, but warned she would have “more to say in due course”.
The former home secretary’s position had become untenable ever since the article hit the stands, with Conservative leaders and those in the Opposition urging Sunak to sack her. They also believed her views caused tensions at a pro-Palestinian march Saturday, which saw about 300,000 walking in central London.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, in an opinion article in The Mirror wrote, “Instead of working with the police in the run-up to this weekend, the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman deliberately chose to attack them and inflame tensions in the most irresponsible way.”
Cooper added, “Suella Braverman has no remaining credibility or authority to do this vital job. A Home Secretary who doesn’t take the security of our streets is only allowed to stay in post because the Government has given up on governing and is letting our nation down.”
Over 140 people were arrested Saturday after far-right counter protesters clashed with police, who tried to keep them away from the 300,000 pro-Palestinian marchers.
Labour leader Keir Starmer in The Sunday Telegraph accused Braverman of “whipping up division”, “sowing the seeds of hatred and distrust” and “demeaning the office” of the home secretary. He also attacked the prime minister for being unable to challenge her, labelling “her failure as much as Sunak’s”.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf had also called for Braverman’s sacking.
Nickie Aiken, the Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party said Braverman’s comments were dangerous.
“This protest should not be stopped unless there is credible intelligence that the police decide means it needs to be stopped. It has to be the police’s choice. These protests should not be stopped by political whim,” she stated.
This is not the first time the former interior minister has made controversial remarks. Earlier this month, she claimed that homelessness was a “lifestyle choice” for many people, while attempting to restrict charities from giving away tents.
In September, she said that many asylum seekers were “pretending to be gay” to get “special treatment” and stay on in the UK. She has also called the arrival of asylum seekers to the country “the invasion on our southern coast”.
Braverman, who was first appointed home secretary by former PM Liz Truss last September, was made to resign after sending out an official document from her personal email, which was against ministerial rules.
However, Sunak reappointed her in less than a week.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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