PRIME Minister Rishi Sunak has sacked home secretary Suella Braverman, one of his administration's senior ministers, a government source said on Monday (13), following remarks the latter made last week about the police's handling of a pro-Palestinian march in London.
Foreign secretary James Cleverly was appointed as the new home secretary, Downing Street said in a post on X.
Braverman had last week reportedly defied the prime minister by publishing an article attacking the law-keepers' handling of the march on Saturday (11).
According to critics, the stance of the home secretary who is known for her hardline viewpoints that often spark controversy, fuelled tensions and encouraged right-wing protesters to stage protests on the streets, putting pressure on the Sunak government.
Braverman, who is a leader of Indian origin like Sunak, accused the police of "double standard" in an opinion piece published ahead of the march. According to her, aggressive right-wing protesters were "rightly met with a stern response" while "pro-Palestine mobs" were "largely ignored".
She also accused the police of playing favourites when it comes to demonstrators.
Braverman, who served as the home secretary first under former prime minister Liz Truss between September and October last year, was reappointed by Sunak six days later after becoming the premier. In the last one month, she repeatedly criticised protesters who gathered in London since Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 that triggered a deadly conflict in the Middle East.
It was reported last week that Braverman was asked to tone down her article but she defied it. Sources in Downing Street said it had started an informal probe into how the former's article was published without the changes they had sought.
On Saturday, Sunak slammed the “violent, wholly unacceptable” scenes by far-right groups who tried to attack a pro-Palestine rally in central London, saying the “despicable actions of a minority of people undermine those who have chosen to express their views peacefully”.
The Conservative leader also criticised the pro-Palestine demonstrators by calling them sympathisers of Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“Remembrance weekend is a time for us to come together as a nation and remember those who fought and died for our freedoms. What we have seen today does not defend the honour of our Armed Forces, but utterly disrespects them,” the PM said in a statement.
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