Suella Braverman lashes out at UK PM Rishi Sunak
A day after being sacked as the Home Secretary, Conservative Party's leading member Suella Braverman lashed out at British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, accusing him of not fulfilling his assurances to her over the issues of illegal immigration and rising antisemitism.
She said that Sunak's plan is "not working" and the Conservative party is heading towards "record election defeat".
"As you know, I accepted your offer to serve as Home Secretary in October 2022 on certain conditions. Despite you having been rejected by a majority of Party members during the summer leadership contest and thus having no personal mandate to be Prime Minister, I agreed to support you because of the firm assurances you gave me on key policy priorities," Braverman said.
The four assurances cited by Braverman in the letter were namely: reducing overall legal migration through, inter alia, international students routes and increasing salary thresholds; including specific 'notwithstanding clauses' into new legislation to stop the boats by excluding international laws objecting the move; delivering the Northern Ireland Protocol and Retained EU Law Bills in their then existing form and timetable; and issuing unequivocal statutory guidance to schools that protects biological sex, safeguards single-sex spaces, and empowers parents to know what is being taught to their children.
"I trusted you," she said, adding "it is generally agreed that my support was a pivotal factor in winning the leadership contest and thus enabling you to become Prime Minister".
Braverman further alleged that despite her sending numerous letters to the Prime Minister on these subjects, they were met with "equivocation, disregard and a lack of interest".
"You have manifestly and repeatedly failed to deliver on every single one of these key policies. Either your distinctive style of government means you are incapable of doing so. Or, as I must surely conclude now, you never had any intention of keeping your promises," Braverman said.
Speaking on the issue of the Conservative government's ambitious Rwanda Plan, the former Home Secretary said that Sunak not agreeing to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), Health Research Authority (HRA), and other obligations restricting government's power to take action on "those with no right to be in the UK" was a "betrayal" of their agreement.
She said that if the UK apex court's ruling comes against the Rwanda Plan, it will bring the Conservative leadership back to square one, while even if it is upheld with the 'compromises' it will make the implementation difficult.
"I can only surmise that this is because you have no appetite for doing what is necessary, and therefore no real intention of fulfilling your pledge to the British people," Braverman added.
Calling it "another disappointment", she slammed Sunak over allegedly not acting against "vicious antisemitism and extremism" displayed on our streets since October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel.
"Britain is at a turning point in our history and faces a threat of radicalisation and extremism in a way not seen for 20 years. I regret to say that your response has been uncertain, weak, and lacking in the qualities of leadership that this country needs. Rather than fully acknowledge the severity of this threat, your team disagreed with me for weeks that the law needed changing," she further said.
Attacking PM Sunak further, the former Home Secretary said that his plan is "not working" and the Conservatives have endured "record election defeats".
"In October of last year you were given an opportunity to lead our country. It is a privilege to serve and one we should not take for granted. Service requires bravery and thinking of the common good. It is not about occupying the office as an end in itself," Braverman said.
She added, "Someone needs to be honest: your plan is not working, we have endured record election defeats, your resets have failed and we are running out of time. You need to change course urgently".
Counting her achievements, Braverman pointed to the recruitment of 20,000 new police officers, the enactment of laws like the Public Order Act 2023, National Security Act 2023 and reforms on anti-social behaviour, police dismissals and standards, reasonable lines of inquiry, grooming gangs, knife crime, non-crime hate incidents, rape and serious sexual offences.
She further added that she will continue to support the government in pursuit of policies that align with an authentic conservative agenda.
Earlier on Monday, Braverman was sacked by Sunak over her sharp criticism of Police amid the ongoing Pro-Palestine rallies in the UK.
Her removal came amid mounting pressure on PM Sunak over her article in the Times UK that criticised the Metropolitan Police for allegedly "going soft" on certain "radical elements" in Pro-Palestine rallies.
(ANI)