'Out of control' Suella Braverman faces sack call after latest anti-police rant
Rishi Sunak faces fresh calls to sack "out of control" Home Secretary Suella Braverman after her latest diatribe - which saw her accuse police of "double standards".
The Cabinet member, whose role includes overseeing police forces in England and Wales, claimed forces "play favourites" with pro-Palestinian protests. The latest divisive attack comes just days after she declared that being homeless was a lifestyle choice.
Ms Braverman had been accused of crossing the line following her latest attack, with Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper accusing her of a "highly irresponsible, dangerous" attempt to undermine respect for police. The Tory leadership hopeful was also branded "the most disastrous and reckless Home Secretary of modern times" by critics.
In an article in The Times, Ms Braverman ranted about a planned protest on Armistice Day - claiming right-wing protests are met with "aggression", but left-wingers get a lighter response. She claimed there is a "perception that senior police officers play favourites when it comes to protesters".
Tory leadership hopeful Suella Braverman has been branded 'out of control' (PA)She said: "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? I have spoken to serving and former police officers who have noted this double standard.
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
"Football fans are even more vocal about the tough way they are policed as compared to politically connected minority groups favoured by the left. It may be that senior officers are more concerned with how much flak they are likely to get than whether this perceived unfairness alienates the majority. The Government has a duty to take a broader view."
It comes after senior Tories lobbied Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley to ban Saturday's march, held in protest over Israel's actions in Gaza. Rishi Sunak said he would hold Sir Mark "accountable" if there is trouble, but conceded it would be allowed to go ahead.
Ms Braverman wrote: "I do not believe that these marches are merely a cry for help for Gaza. They are an assertion of primacy by certain groups - particularly Islamists - of the kind we are more used to seeing in Northern Ireland.
"Also disturbingly reminiscent of Ulster are the reports that some of Saturday's march group organisers have links to terrorist groups, including Hamas."
It sparked an immediate backlash. Ms Cooper wrote: "Suella Braverman is out of control. Her article tonight is a highly irresponsible, dangerous attempt to undermine respect for police at a sensitive time, to rip up operational independence & to inflame community tensions. No other Home Secretary of any party would ever do this."
And she continued: "Either Rishi Sunak has licensed this or he is too weak to sack her. Job of Home Secretary is to keep our country safe, not to run an endless Tory leadership campaign If PM can’t get a grip of Suella Braverman’s conduct, means he’s given up any pretence of serious government."
And Lib Dem Home Affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said: "Suella Braverman is running a Conservative party leadership campaign, not the Home Office.
"The Home Secretary's desire to stoke divisions and ramp up tensions in this way is irresponsible and dangerous. Instead of working with the police, she is doing everything in her power to make their already challenging jobs harder. This Government by press release has made her the most disastrous and reckless Home Secretary of modern times."
On Tuesday Labour leader Keir Starmer called on the PM to "think very carefully" about how the Home Secretary reflects on the Government. He said: "Without a serious Home Secretary there can be no serious Government and he cannot be a serious Prime Minister. Homelessness is a choice. It's a political choice."
* Follow Mirror Politics on Snapchat, Tiktok, Twitter and Facebook.
Richard 'shuts up' GMB guest who says Hancock 'deserved' being called 'd***head'
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
