Suella Braverman ‘has been sacked’ as Rishi Sunak kicks off dramatic reshuffle TODAY despite fears of sparking massive Tory civil war
Rumours are sweeping Westminster that Rishi Sunak could move to stage a reshuffle and axe Suella Braverman today.
Government insiders are increasingly braced for the PM to shake up his top team as he tries to restore his authority with potentially less than a year to a general election.
The Home Secretary could be the biggest casualty, after an extraordinary week of rowing over handling of pro-Palestinian protests in London on Armistice Day.
Ms Braverman drew the fury of No10 by lashing out at ‘hate marches’ and then penning an article accusing the police of bias without getting it cleared.
Critics have blamed her for inflaming violence with far-right counter-protesters taking to the streets – although the Tories are badly split with supporters saying the grim scenes in the capital proved her right.
The Cabinet minister sounded defiance last night despite mounting speculation about her fate, releasing a statement saying pro-Gaza demos ‘polluting’ the streets with hate ‘can’t go on’.
Rumours are sweeping Westminster that Rishi Sunak could move to stage a reshuffle and axe Suella Braverman today
Government insiders are increasingly braced for the PM to shake up his top team as he tries to restore his authority with potentially less than a year to a general election
Police detain a man during protests in central London on Saturday
She slammed the ‘valorising of terrorism’ on Armistice Day and said further action was needed.
Briefing out of No10 overnight suggested that the government is looking at toughening up the rules for police blocking such protests – which have been happening weekly in the capital.
Having held off before the Remembrance weekend, Downing Street seems to have decided it must act before a key court judgment on the Rwanda policy on Wednesday.
The government is braced to lose the case, with concerns that Ms Braverman might burnish her credentials with the Tory right by quitting and demanding the UK leaves the European Convention on Human Rights.
Other major jobs are expected to switch hands, with Health Secretary Steve Barclay tipped as under threat.
However, Jeremy Hunt is almost certainly safe with barely a week until the Autumn Statement.
More than 100 arrests were made after clashes involving far-Right groups and pro-Palestine protesters in central London on Saturday.
Mrs Braverman’s intervention came as speculation rages about her political future after she clashed with Downing Street over a newspaper article, which critics said inflamed tensions.
The Tories are lagging far behind in the polls with MPs increasingly nervous about Mr Sunak’s failure to make an impact
Ahead of Saturday’s protest, the Home Secretary branded it a ‘hate march’ and accused officers of ‘playing favourites’ with protesters. Last night, amid rumours of a Cabinet reshuffle, she doubled down on her comments.
In uncompromising language, Mrs Braverman tweeted that chants, placards and posters carried by some protesters were ‘clearly criminal’ and marked a ‘new low’.
She added: ‘Anti-Semitism and other forms of racism together with the valorising of terrorism on such a scale is deeply troubling.
‘This can’t go on. Week by week, the streets of London are being polluted by hate, violence, and anti-Semitism. Members of the public are being mobbed and intimidated. Jewish people in particular feel threatened. Further action is necessary.’
Source: Read Full Article
