Suella Braverman has just published a scathing resignation letter after she was sacked by Rishi Sunak as home secretary yesterday.
After a paragraph expressing pride in her record in the post, Mrs Braverman writes: “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.
“Those priorities were reducing illegal migration, excluding parts of international law from new legislation aimed at stopping small boat crossings, delivering the Northern Ireland Protocol and the retained EU law legislation as they were a year ago (and have since changed), and issuing statutory guidance protecting biological sex.”
But she writes: “You have manifestly and repeatedly failed to deliver on every single one of these key policies.”
She accuses him of a “betrayal of our agreement” that put Mr Sunak in Downing Street and a “betrayal of your promise to the nation that you would do ‘whatever it takes’ to stop the boats”.
The ex-home secretary also accuses the prime minister of a “failure to rise to the challenge posed by the increasingly vicious antisemitism and extremism displayed on our streets” since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
She labels his response to “the rising tide of racism, intimidation, and terrorist glorification” as “uncertain, weak, and lacking in the qualities of leadership that this country needs”.
Concluding the letter, she writes: “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.”
Mrs Braverman acknowledges that she “may not have always found the right words” to express her views, but says she has “always striven to give voice to the quiet majority that supported us in 2019”.
But she adds, “I will, of course, continue to support the government in pursuit of policies that align with an authentic conservative agenda.”
Shortly after Suella Braverman released her scathing resignation letter, Tory MPs began publicly expressing their reactions.
Michael Fabricant, the MP for Lichfield, wrote on X that it was “no ordinary resignation letter” but “an indictment listing all the charges”.
“Will there be a detailed rebuttal from the prime minister?” he added.
Simon Clarke, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, described it as “a devastating letter”.
He went on: “I hope the government wins tomorrow’s Supreme Court case.
Suella-braverman-resignation-letter and sack letter
“However, win or lose, how the government then proceeds will be a litmus test of whether it is serious about fixing the wholly unacceptable scale of illegal immigration or simply talking about it.”
Former minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg—no supporter of Mr Sunak these days—did not comment on the substance of the letter but tweeted: “Suella doesn’t mince her words.”
And William Wragg, MP for Hazel Grove, mocked Mrs Braverman, writing: “Infamy, infamy. They’ve all got it in for me!”
Home Secretary Suella Braverman is accused of asking public officials to help her avoid receiving points on her licence for speeding, and a traffic attorney argues she “shot herself in the foot.”
Nick Freeman, sometimes known as Mr. Loophole, is notorious for using legal technicalities to win high-profile cases.
He said suppliers prefer high-profile individuals take private courses and that Mrs. Braverman did nothing wrong by asking state workers to try and arrange a one-on-one driving course.
Downing Street confirmed this evening that Rishi Sunak will consult with his adviser on ministerial interests in relation to these claims when he returns from Japan.
The prime minister’s ethics tsar, Sir Laurie Magnus, can only start an investigation into potential breaches of the ministerial code if Mr Sunak asks him to.
Speaking on Sky News, Mr Freeman said: ‘Many of the course providers actually prefer to have a one-to-one because it proves to be less of a distraction, so from that perspective, she’s done absolutely nothing wrong.’
Mr Freeman told the PA news agency that Mrs Braverman should have asked a lawyer to try and organise a private course, and should have ‘come clean immediately’ and accepted responsibility.
He explained: ‘I think she would have won political plaudits for that and she’s lost a golden opportunity because we just don’t see politicians behave like that.
‘This would have, I think, got a lot of brownie points, it’s a lost opportunity, she shot herself in the foot by behaving as she did.
‘If she got a lawyer to do it nobody would be any of the wiser, she’d have done the course, the course provider wouldn’t leak her information and the lawyer wouldn’t either.
‘She’s the author of her own misfortune; one for speeding, two for speaking to civil servants about arranging the course, three for not getting a lawyer to deal with it for her and four for not coming out straight away and holding her hands up.’
He also added that ‘if you don’t ask, you don’t get’, and said there was ‘nothing improper’ about requesting a one-to-one course.
Mr Freeman said: ‘I think there’s a great deal of political mileage that’s been made by people who are suggesting that she’s done something underhand, she hasn’t.
‘Whether or not she should have used civil servants to assist her is something that politicians will deal with and not me.
‘My own view is that if you commit an offence of speeding or any offence, it’s a private matter and you should deal with it on a private basis and you shouldn’t be using tax-funded employees to help you out with that private problem.
‘So that’s the potential for political fallout for her.’
Five cops seized a pub’s collection of golliwog dolls, prompting criticism of the police force for “getting involved in nonsense.”
Following an anonymous complaint that their appearance was a possible hate crime, five Essex Police officers went to the White Hart Hotel in Grays and confiscated 15 dolls.
A Home Office source claims that even Home Secretary Suella Braverman has criticized the force after officers questioned owner Benice Ryley at the pub on Sunday.
According to the source, Essex Police are aware of the Home Secretary’s views because they have been made quite clear to them recently.
‘Police forces should not be getting involved in this kind of nonsense. It’s about tackling anti-social behaviour, stopping violence against women and girls, attending burglaries and catching criminals – not seizing dolls.’
The force said they received an allegation of a hate crime in February, which led to their attendance at the pub on April 4.
Mrs Ryley, 61, said police still have the dolls and they are unlikely to get them back until after her husband Chris, 65, returns from Turkey next month and is questioned.
Chris and Benice Ryley pictured in 2018 with one of their beloved golly dolls (Picture: Eastnews Press Agency)
She added: ‘The whole thing is totally mad. Since the gollies were taken and the story was in the newspapers, we have had so many people get in touch with myself and my husband to say we shouldn’t give up and should keep them on our shelf.
‘Over the last two days my customers keep singing “save the gollies” and they want us to get them back.
‘So we are having a sign prepared that will say “gollies are on display, so don’t come in if that offends you” and once that’s ready we’ll restore some more of the dolls to the shelf.
‘They are sentimentally very valuable. The last thing this pub is is racist, we hold Indian weddings here all the time and of course everyone is welcome.
‘I told the officers it was all ridiculous to send so many of them for such a small thing – as they were bagging the gollies up I said “don’t worry, they won’t resist arrest”.’
The golliwog first started appearing in children’s books in the 1800s and was created by cartoonist Florence Kate Upton.
The dolls became popular in the 1970s in the UK but more recently they are considered to be a racist caricature of black people.
The golliwog character was inspired by minstrel shows, where white actors would use ‘blackface’ and create a cartoonish black character who they would degrade and humiliate during the performance.
A spokesman for Essex Police said: ‘We are investigating an allegation of hate crime reported to us on February 24.
‘Essex Police have discussed the progression of this case with the Crown Prosecution Service.
‘On April 4 officers attended a location off Argent Street, Grays, and seized several items in connection with that investigation.
‘The investigation is ongoing so we will not be commenting further at this stage.
‘The force is proud of the work we do prevent crime, tackle offenders and build trust and confidence in all communities.’
There is no exemption to this rule, not even for senior Tories like Suella Braverman, who is accused of abusing the system to have the government pay her $25,000 energy bill.
According to the Mirror, the home secretary has lived rent-free with her parents when she is away while claiming the staggering amount over the course of five years for her London property.
Although the requests for utility payments are legal under legislative rules, the millions of people affected by the cost of living crisis are likely to be incensed by this extravagant spending.
The home secretary appeared on the BBC 1 current affairs programme, Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg (Picture: PA)
There are also those who question why MPs who have great personal wealth can claim for expenses at all.
Even more, an investigation by the newspaper suggests Ms Braverman uses them to pay the household bills on her £1.2 million family pad in Bushey, Hertfordshire.
Former Committee on Standards in Public Life chairman Sir Alistair Graham said this looks like an attempt to ‘game the rules to maximise benefit’.
‘She says she “fully funds” her constituency accommodation but does not reveal it is owned by her parents,’ he added.
‘Those are weasel words, she needs to explain what it means. Is she manipulating the rules to strengthen her household income? It has the smell of a conspiracy to do that.’
Being an MP is a two-centre job, and so the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority permits those representing constituencies outside the capital to fund accommodation and associated costs in a second location.
This includes energy, utilities, internet and council tax., but not MPs’ mortgages or mortgage interest.
For 2022-23, the accommodation budget is £25,080 for renting in London, and £17,840 for outside.
This is why Ms Braverman’s expense claims for her parents’ home are ‘difficult to justify’, argues Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain.
He said: ‘Even if it is within the rules, it is not within the spirit of the rules. It shows how out of touch some Conservative MPs have become.’
A source close to the senior MP, who has recently been in the news for her greatly controversial plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, would not confirm if she contributed to the costs of the house her parents Uma and Christie own.
‘The home secretary has chosen not to rent a home in her constituency for which she would be entitled to claim £17,000 a year, and therefore saving the taxpayer money,’ he said.
‘Instead, when she became MP for Fareham, she and her family made a home in her constituency so she could stay there.
‘She doesn’t claim a penny from the taxpayer on this home.’
Suella Braverman has stated that she is “not familiar” with the widely reported five-year-old massacre of at least twelve refugees by Rwandan police.
When questioned about the event on Sunday in light of the government’s intentions to send migrants who arrive in the UK on small boats to Rwanda, the home secretary appeared to blank out.
Eight people who had escaped ethnic persecution and violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo were killed in 2018, according to the UN, after local officers opened fire in response to protests about food rations outside one of its major relief centers in Rwanda.
Another three were said to have been killed by police guarding a nearby refugee camp after news of the deaths ignited tensions.
Suella Braverman insists Rwanda is safe despite 2018 killing of refugees by police
It was later reported that a twelfth victim had died from her injuries,w hile two pregnant women who fled the shooting miscarried.
Rwanda, which claims only five died, insists live rounds were used as a ‘last resort’ protesters at the aid centre had wounded seven officers using ‘stones, sticks and metal projectiles’ and an immigration official had been taken hostage at the camp.
But Human Rights Watch insists they were unarmed and the UN condemned the use of force as ‘disproportionate’ and ‘unacceptable’.
Ms Braverman has repeatedly insisted Rwanda is a safe country for migrants, many of whom are set to be flown there if found to have entered the UK through illegal routes.
Asked about the 2018 incident – which was reported across the world – on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, she said: ‘I’m not familiar with that particular case.’
The home secretary was then asked if she was still sure the new policy is safe and if she would tear it up if a similar tragedy occurs again.
She responded: ‘That might be 2018, we’re looking at 2023 and beyond. The High Court – senior, expert judges – have looked into the detail of our arrangements with Rwanda and found it to be a safe country and found our arrangements to be lawful.
‘Rwanda, from which I’ve just returned, takes 100,000 refugees and resettles them. I met some of them in Rwanda on my recent visit, from countries in the region, they have nothing but gratitude and thanks for Rwanda for the resettlement scheme that [the country] has put on.
‘They have a track record of successfully resettling and integrating people who are refugees or asylum seekers.
‘Rwanda is a safe country, it is the right solution for us grappling with our small boats problem, and I believe it will strike the right balance of providing a humanitarian package of support for people who are refugees while at the same time being a deterrent to those seeking a life in the UK.’
The Home Office previously suggested deportation flights could start this summer, though the policy faces court challenges which could force ministers to water it down.
Many of the Congolese refugees killed in 2018 were still living in camps despite having arrived in Rwanda in the 1990s.
Dozens more were arrested in the following months and more than half of those were jailed for between 3 months and 15 years, according to Human Rights Watch.
In a report on the killings, Rwanda’s National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), which is closely linked to the government, said police ‘had used all peaceful and less harmful means to contain the situation’.
On a walkabout in Essex, the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Home Secretary Suella Braverman received jeers.
On the day a contentious immigration law is the center of attention in the Commons, a woman shouted at them, “Let migrants into our nation.”
She then yelled at the top two government officials of Britain, “Get away, we don’t want you here.”
The awkward incident came as they walked through a quiet Chelmsford town centre around 9am this morning.
The prime minister and home secretary ignored the shouting and walked on (Picture: PA)Community Support Officer Sonja Viner, Police Sergeant Sophie Chesters, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Police Sergeant Matt Collins on their way to visit to a community centre in Chelmsford, Essex (Picture: PA)
The pair both ignored the woman and continued speaking to police officers accompanying them.
They were heading to a community centre to do a Q&A with the public about their crackdown on anti-social behaviour.
The Illegal Migration Bill, which is designed to put a stop to migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, returns to the House of Commons for its committee stage on Monday.
Downing Street is facing a rebellion from both the liberal and the right wings of the Conservative Party.
Dozens have demanded a tougher crackdown and are produced to back an amendment that will block the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) from preventing removals from taking place.
But others want to force the Home Secretary to declare ‘safe and legal routes by which asylum seekers can enter’ the UK.
The Bill has been highly divisive, with critics warning that the proposed legislation leaves the UK foul of its international obligations.
The charity Refugee Action warned it would ’cause misery, cost millions to the taxpayer and drive desperate people to take ever more dangerous journeys’, while the Archbishop of York described the bill as ‘cruelty without purpose’.
In a joint statement, the UK and France pledged to “destroy” the business model of people-smuggling gangs.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman and her French counterpart Gérald Darmanin said the tragedy highlighted the need to jointly prevent the crossings.
“Our hearts go out to all those affected by this tragic event,” they said.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said some searches had taken place overnight with vessels in the area asked to post lookouts and report sightings to the Dover Coastguard.
Footage from Wednesday’s rescue showed the inflatable boat filling with water as some dressed only in T-shirts and thin lifejackets screamed for help.
The video – shared by the owner of the fishing trawler, Ben Squire – showed the crew of the fishing boat pulling people up out of the water and the boat with ropes.
Those rescued from the dinghy said they had each paid £5,000 to cross the channel, the BBC has been told.
IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS Image caption, Rescue workers stand on board an RNLI lifeboat as a search and rescue operation is launched in the English Channel
After hauling people to safety, Mr Squire said the crew gave them hot showers and their own clothes, and fed them to help warm them up.
Charles Blyth, the safety officer at the company which owns the trawler, said it was “sheer coincidence” it was in the right place for the rescue.
“As soon as the individuals on that dinghy saw [our] fishing vessel, many of them started to jump off and swim,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He said crew members onboard had been trained in emergency care for people going overboard.
Lifeboat crews that arrived at the scene 10 minutes after the fishing trawler encountered a “horrific” and “distressing situation”, the RNLI’s head of lifeboats said on Thursday.
Simon Ling thanked the “invaluable” actions of the fishing vessel, saying crew members had saved “countless lives”.
Temperatures at the time had dropped below 1C and were likely to have been colder out at sea.
A French organisation, Utopia 56, which helps migrants in Calais, said it was contacted at 01:53 GMT – with a voice message and a location – by a boat in distress in the Channel.
Nikolai Posner from the organisation said the voice message stated there were people in the water and families on board.
“It was clearly an emergency, he was calling for help,” he told PA News, adding that they could hear “babies screaming” in the background.
The organisation, however, has said it was not possible to verify whether the distress call was definitely from the boat in question.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed his sorrow at the “tragic loss of human life”.
In November 2021, at least 27 migrants died after a dinghy sank while heading to the UK from France.
Some 460 people made the journey from France to Kent in small boats between Friday and Sunday, the BBC’s Simon Jones said.
Nearly 45,000 people have made the journey this year so far.
It’s not clear where the children that were rescued have been taken, but Kent County Councilworks with the Home Office and police in the safeguarding of vulnerable children.
The independent government adviser on violence against women has declared she will not stay on as Suella Braverman’s assistant.
Nimco Ali declared on live radio that when it comes to women’s rights and ethnic minorities, she and the home secretary were on “totally different planets.”
When her buddy Boris Johnson was prime minister, Ms. Ali was appointed.
Ms. Ali’s contract was set to expire before Christmas, according to a source close to the home secretary.
They added: “The home secretary is determined to make our streets and homes safer for women and girls.
“She will continue to focus on this policy and the rights of women and girls to live safely in our country.”
The Home Office said they had not received any formal resignation and were therefore not commenting.
Ms Ali was being interviewed on Times Radio when she said she would not “feel comfortable in serving under Suella”.
“Suella and I are on completely different planets when it comes to the rights of women and girls and also the way that we talk about ethnic minorities,” she said.
Ms Ali said Ms Braverman had different approaches to “people like me who are from a refugee background”.
She also questioned if the home secretary shared her “feminist ideals”.
When pressed on whether she would remain as an adviser, she said “ultimately no, I’m not going to continue”.
The move comes hours after the home secretary agreed to back a bill criminalising street harassment.
Ms Ali had a major role in preparing the groundwork for the bill and led a consultation into making street harassment a specific crime while serving under former home secretary Priti Patel.
Ms Ali was appointed to her role by Ms Patel in October 2020.
IMAGE SOURCE,EPA Image caption, Labour says Ms Ali’s decision is “damning for Suella Braverman”
The BBC understands there has been no decision about appointing someone else to the role of Independent Adviser on Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls.
Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper called Ms Ali’s decision “damning for Suella Braverman”.
Ms Cooper said: “Those around her clearly don’t think she’s capable of doing the job.
“It shows how weak Rishi Sunak was to appoint her. More chaos at the heart of this Tory government.”
An ally of Ms Braverman indicated she had not met Ms Ali in her three months as home secretary.
Suella Braverman, the home secretary, has urged people to reconsider travelling during the Christmas seasonas Border Force employees join a number of other groups in discussing industrial action over pay and conditions.
The home secretary has advised people to “think carefully” before booking a trip over the Christmas holiday after Border Force employees became the latest to announce they would go on strike.
Suella Braverman warned of “undeniable, serious disruption for the many thousands who have holiday plans” and urged people to reconsider travelling during the holiday season.
“I really want to urge people who have got plans to travel abroad to think carefully about their plans because they may well be impacted,” she said.
“Ultimately, I’m not willing to compromise on security at the border – that’s the number one priority.
“So that may well have an adverse impact on convenience for people, frankly, whether it’s the time that they may have to wait for flights or departures.
“They may well be delayed on arrivals and various travel plans.
“Ultimately, security at the border is my number one non-negotiable priority.”
Border Force strikes will take place between 23-26 December, and from 28 to 31 December, impacting Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow and Manchester airports, as well as the Port of Newhaven.
Manchester Airport has warned some cancellations are likely, while long queues at immigration are expected.
Downing Street has said anyone due to fly over the Christmas period should check with their airline for the latest information “because sadly there will be disruption”.
A spokesperson added that they were “not aware of any plans” to reduce border checks, saying: “Public safety is paramount.”
The Border Force walkouts join a raft of strikes that are set to hit festive travel, with industrial action organised by train, bus and road workers in the run up to Christmas and throughout the holiday season.
Ministers ‘have torpedoed’ strike talks
The warning from the home secretary comes as the boss of the rail union accused the government of “sabotaging” negotiations aimed at stopping the disruption.
Mick Lynch, the general secretary of the RMT, told Sky News that ministers have “torpedoed” talks between train operating companies and workers taking industrial action over pay and conditions.
Image: RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch
Mr Lynch said that after months of negotiations, rail companies had put together a document and a set of pay scales they wanted the RMT to consider “and we would have done that”.
“But at the last moment, including last night around about six o’clock, the government decided that they would not allow the railway companies to make that offer and instead instructed them to prepare for the strike,” he said.
“In fact, they sabotaged and sunk the negotiations just as they were reaching the point of conclusion,” he said.
He accused Transport Secretary Mark Harper of “obstructing talks” and also pointed the finger at Business Secretary Grant Shapps, as well as the Treasury.
“I meet with the most senior people on the railway and I’m on the phone to them constantly. They are telling me they’ve got a document ready to go.
“They’ve shown it to me and they’ve shown it to my negotiators and the government has stopped them putting that document forward.”
Mr Lynch said “somebody” in government has put driver-only operation back on the table and into the documents when “they know we can never accept that as a principle”.
Mr Harper was asked about this during an appearance in front of the Transport Select Committee on Wednesday and did not explicitly deny that this is what happened.
It means a series of rail strikes are set to go ahead on the 13, 14, 16 and 17 December, and from 6pm on Christmas Eve to 6am on 27 December, as well as on 3, 4, 6 and 7 January
Christmas strikes ‘really disappointing’
The picket lines are not limited to transport, with teachers, nurses and ambulance workers among others from the public sector taking action over pay and conditions.
The government has been criticised for failing to stop the strikes, with union bosses accusing ministers of stonewalling requests for meaningful pay talks.
Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, told Sky News that the strikes were “disappointing” but giving in to the union’s demands would cost the taxpayer £28bn and “you can’t spend your way out of inflation”.
She said “we do expect there will be disruption and delays” but 2,000 soldiers would be drafted in to help with Border Force roles and “we should be extremely grateful to them”.
With only one day left in December when there are no strikes – the 12th – it was put to the cabinet minister that general strikes bring down governments, as seen in the 1970s.
Ms Keegan said: “Well, I mean, that has happened in history for sure.”
However, she insisted the government was taking a “sensible and balanced” approach by not interfering in the pay negotiations, saying the disputes were between “unions and the paymasters”.
Government ‘failing to get a grip’
Unions are demanding pay rises above or in line with inflation as the UK is gripped by a recession and the cost of living rises.
Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Pat McFadden told Sky News the government is “failing to get a grip” on the strikes, adding: “Even when we don’t have strikes, public services are not working properly, I can scarcely think of a public service in this country that works better after 12 years of Conservative government than what before they came into office.
“That is a damning indictment of their period of stewardship.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised “tough” new laws to limit the impact of strike action, and has not ruled out banning strikes in the emergency services.
Government ‘working at speed’ on strike legislation
Downing Street said the government is “working at speed” to bring in new legislation, though a spokesman on Thursday stressed that nothing has been confirmed.
Any new measures will put them on a collision course with unions, who say the mooted proposals are anti-worker.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, told the PM on Wednesday “we are ready industrially and financially” to challenge any new measures.
In a joint letter to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, union heads accused ministers of “ignoring the main issue on the table” that is causing the strikes – public sector pay.
Highlighting “huge” pay cuts public sector workers have suffered, the union leaders warned: “With CPI inflation over 11% and RPI inflation above 14%, frontline workers are facing another massive real-terms hit to their wages.
“Nurses, ambulance staff, teachers and millions of other key workers have already seen their living standards decimated with over a decade of pay cuts and wage freezes.
“Nurses today are earning £5,000 a year less in real terms than they were in 2010 and hospitals and schools are having to set up food banks for staff. This cannot go on.”
Home Secretary Suella Braverman will fly to Paristo sign a revised agreement in an effort to discourage individuals from navigating the English Channel in small boats.
According to the amended agreement, the sum that the UK pays France to cover the expense of extra patrols at their end will climb from approximately £55 million year to £63 million.
The number of officers patrolling the French coast to try to stop people setting off will rise from 200 to 300.
In recent weeks, Ms Braverman has come under growing pressure over the issue.
So far this year, more than 40,000 people have made the perilous crossing, the highest number on record.
BBC News home affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford said that while the expanded deal would further disrupt the people smugglers operating in France it was unlikely to end their trade.
The British government has always stressed that there is no single solution to the problem of thousands of migrants risking their lives crossing the Channel in small boats.
But one approach tried in recent years has been to try to stop migrants leaving French shores. There are thousands of people in coastal towns there, who have travelled from other countries and are waiting for their opportunity to cross the Channel to claim asylum in the UK.
As well as extra officers and patrols, the British money will allow more use of drones and night vision equipment, and will also be spent on boosting reception and removal centres in France.
French ports will receive investment to increase the use of CCTV and detection dog teams to prevent illegal entry to the UK via lorries. UK observers will be embedded in French control rooms, and French observers embedded in UK control rooms – to help inform each other’s deployments.
The deal had been close for several months but the French government were reluctant to finalise it until there was a stable government in the UK, our correspondent says.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman will travel to Paris to sign the deal with her French counterpart
It comes after weeks of criticism aimed at the government for severe overcrowding at the migrant processing site in Manston, Kent, and for its spending on housing for those waiting for their asylum applications to be completed.
Last month, the Home Affairs Committee heard that the UK is spending almost £7m a day on hotels for asylum seekers.
MPs also heard that only 4% of asylum claims by migrants who crossed the English Channel in 2021 had been processed.
Ms Braverman has previously admitted the system was “broken” and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said not enough asylum claims were being processed.
The home secretary will hope a new agreement with the French can ease pressure on the process.
More than 40,000 people applying for asylum have waited between one and three years for a decision on their claim, according to a Refugee Council Freedom of Information request, reported in The Guardian.
It also reported that a further 725 migrants have been waiting for more than five years to have their claim processed.
Once people who cross the English Channel in small boats reach UK shores, those who are detained are sent to Manston Airport in Kent where they undergo security and identity checks.
They are only meant to be held there for a short period before moving into the Home Office’s asylum accommodation system while their claims are processed.
However, last month it emerged there was severe overcrowding at Manston, with 4,000 people staying there rather than the 1,600 for which the site was intended.
Numbers have since been reduced to less than 1,600, according to immigration minister Robert Jenrick.
On Saturday it emerged people at Manston centre are to be vaccinated against highly contagious and sometimes fatal diphtheria after an outbreak.
The higher numbers of migrants making the crossing this year has been partly blamed on a big rise in the number of Albanian nationals making the journey.
So far this year 12,000 Albanians have arrived in the UK using small boats, compared to just 50 in 2020.
She was given the job back. That was already controversial.
There was a view amongst some that Rishi Sunak had done that in order to bring the right of the party, because Suella Braverman is considered a figurehead on the right, to bind the right of the party into his government, because he doesn’t want all these divisions.
But at the same time, there’s no sense that Rishi Sunakin the way that Boris Johnson stood firmly behind Priti Patel, who is the former home secretary, so there’s not a sense that Rishi Sunak is necessarily standing behind Suella Braverman.
And one source said to me, one ally of Rishi Sunak said to me this week, that actually there’s a view that perhaps the migrant crisis, the small boat crisis, is such an intractable, difficult problem.
Maybe he is happy for her to own that, to take responsibility for that problem.
And if she falls on her sword because of that problem, maybe for Rishi Sunak, that’s quite useful because he can say to the right of the party, Well, I gave her the opportunity.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has accused the British government of “discriminating” against Albanians after a top UK official singled out the nationality for its role in illegal migration to the country.
Small-boat crossings of the English Channel from mainland Europe have become a political headache for UK ministers, who promised that Brexit would lead to tighter immigration controls.
Official statistics in the UK have said that Albanians are now the largest single group making small-boat crossings of the Channel.
‘Targeting Albanians’
In a series of messages posted on his personal Twitter account on Wednesday, Rama said UK officials have been actively “discriminating” against Albanians.
“Targeting Albanians (as some shamefully did when fighting for Brexit) as the cause of Britain’s crime and border problems makes for easy rhetoric but ignores hard fact,” Rama tweeted.
“Albanians in the UK work hard and pay tax. UK should fight the crime gangs of all nationalities and stop discriminating … to excuse policy failures,” he added.
Britain’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman was recently criticised for her choice of language during a heated Commons debate, when she alleged that there is an “invasion” of England by migrants.
Braverman has also pointed the finger at Albanian asylum seekers, saying that many Albanian adult maleswho seek asylum in the UK have posed as children, a practice she intended to “clamp down” on.
Albanian arrivals
British MPs were told recently that 12,000 Albanians had arrived in the country after crossing the Channel so far this year, compared with only 50 in 2020.
The number of migrant arrivals have reached record levels, causing delays in asylum applications and increasing costs in terms of housing and other social services.
Albanian organised crime gang groups are believed to be among the main players in smuggling migrants across the Channel to Britain from northern Europe.
Earlier this week, British and Belgian law enforcement officers said they had arrested three people suspected of being part of an Albanian people-smuggling ring.
Warning: This story contains details of child sexual assault.
A culture of misogyny and predatory behavior, fuelled by poor vetting standards, is “prevalent” in police forces across England and Wales, according to a police watchdog.
Wednesday’s report by the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary comes more than a year after the March 2021 death of Sarah Everard, who was killed by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens.
He was last year jailed for life for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of the 33-year-old in a case that exposed the failings of the police force.
Police were criticised for neglecting to take any action after Couzens allegedly exposed himself in 2015 and was involved in another incident in 2002.
Sarah Everard [File: Metropolitan Police/AFP]
The interior minister at the time, Priti Patel, ordered the police watchdog to investigate misogynistic and predatory behaviour within forces.
In some of the most concerning cases Wednesday’s report cited, police officers who had been hired without thorough checks had gone on to sexually abuse children.
A force in Cheshire, for instance, failed to properly vet a candidate who was accused of rape.
In October 2017, months after Ian Naude had been hired, the then 30-year-old answered a call to a domestic abuse emergency where he ended up meeting a 13-year-old girl.
Three days later, while “her mother was out, he drove the child to a secluded country lane and raped her, filming the offense on his mobile phone” the report said.
“Over the last decade, there have been many warning signs that these systemsaren’t working well enough. Some police officers have used their unique position to commit appalling crimes, especially against women,” the report said.
Female officers were surveyed and the report found that an “alarming number” of women reported “appalling behavior by male colleagues”.
This included allegations of sexual harassment and “serious sexual assault”.
“We concluded that far too many women had, at some stage in their career, experienced unwanted sexual behavior towards them,” the report added.
The watchdog looked at 11,277 police officers and staff and examined 725 vetting files.
Inspectors called for minimum standards for pre-employment checks and for changes to the law dealing with police complaints and disciplinary procedures.
‘Too easy’
Lead inspector Matt Parr found that “it is too easy for the wrong people to both join and stay in the police” and that there were “significant questions” over the recruitment of “thousands” of officers.
While most police officers and staff meet the required standards of behaviour, the report found “systemic failings, missed opportunities, and a generally inadequate approach to setting and maintaining standards in the police service.
“It is too easy for the wrong people to both join and stay in the police. If the police are to rebuild public trust and protect their own female officers and staff vetting must be much more rigorous and sexual misconduct taken more seriously,” said Parr.
The London force tweeted in response that it would be “ruthless in ridding the Met of those who corrupt our integrity”.
Inspectors also found cases where incidents such as indecent exposure were dismissed as a “one-off” and where applicants with links to “extensive criminality” in their families had been hired.
The report said that “over the last three or four years, the number of people recruited over whom we would raise significant questions is certainly in the hundreds, if not low thousands”.
Patel’s successor Suella Braverman said the report shines a “stark light” on problems within the police, adding it was “unacceptable” that women “continue to experience misogynistic and sexist behaviour”.
After Home Secretary Suella Braverman used the word “invasion” to describe the migration crisis in the Commons yesterday, a YouGov survey has found that 44% of Britons felt the word was “inappropriate”.
The survey of 4,790 adults in the UK also found that 43% felt the word was “appropriate”.
Meanwhile, 76% of Conservative voters felt the word was “appropriate” and 16% believed using the term was “inappropriate”.
When it came to Labour voters, 16% said the word was “appropriate” and 74% felt that using the term was “inappropriate”.
The home secretary has said that southern England is facing an “invasion” of migration. Do you think this wording is appropriate or inappropriate?
Suella Braverman claimed earlier today that migrants crossing the Channel were “invading” England.
According to the home secretary, approximately 40,000 people will arrive on England’s south coast in 2022, more than doubling the number of arrivals via the English Channel in 2021.
“Let’s be clear about what’s going on here: the British people deserve to know which party is serious about stopping the invasion on our southern coast and which party isn’t,” she said.
“Some 40,000 people have arrived on the south coast this year alone. Many of them are facilitated by criminal gangs, some of them actual members of criminal gangs.
“So let’s stop pretending that they are all refugees in distress. The whole country knows that is not true. It’s only the honourable members opposite who pretend otherwise.
“We need to be straight with the public. The system is broken. Illegal migration is out of controland too many people are interested in playing political parlour games, covering up the truth than solving the problem.”
Now, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants has condemned Ms Braverman’s comments.
They said the minister’s “dehumanising language” and decision-making were “putting lives at risk”.
Suella Braverman’s second term as home secretary has already been fraught with controversy.
She admitted to breaking the ministerial code six times during her first tenure and is currently dealing with the south coast migrant crisis.
Chief political correspondent Jon Craig said on the Sky News Daily podcast, “Clearly, there is a concern in Whitehall about her behaviour.”
“And we know that Priti Patel never cared much for the rules and the protocol and the mandarins in the Home Office who tried to tell her what to do.
“And it seems that Suella Braverman has even less time for all the protocols and rules about security and how you do business.
“As a senior cabinet minister, she’s prepared to have a fight.”
Meanwhile, John Vine, the UK’s first independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, said that “one single policy” will not make a difference.
He added: “We need to think through the asylum and immigration system, and we need to decide how it’s going to operate.
“And we need to stick to that.”
On the Sky News Daily, Sally Lockwood is also joined by Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale, who explains his view of the current Home Office migration policy.
Suella Braverman has written to the House of Commons’ Home Affairs Select Committee to explain how she sent government information to a backbench MP.
This action prompted Ms Braverman to resign as home secretary, only to be reappointed six days later (last week, upon Rishi Sunak, becoming PM).
Ms Braverman also admitted to sending work emails to her personal address on six occasions, in violation of the ministerial code.
In the letter, Ms Braverman says the information related to a written ministerial statement outlining immigration policy.
She says the information would “outline the government’s position” – and allow the OBR to incorporate the position into their forecasts.
The information was sent to Tory MP Sir John Hayes, with Ms Braverman saying she “intended to copy his secretary’s parliamentary email address” but she put the wrong email in. The information instead went to the secretary of a different MP.
According to Ms Braverman,
Suella Braverman has written to the House of Commons’ Home Affairs Select Committee to explain how she sent government information to a backbench MP.
This action prompted Ms Braverman to resign as home secretary, only to be reappointed six days later (last week, upon Rishi Sunak becoming PM).
Ms Braverman also admitted to sending work emails to her personal address on six occasions, in violation of the ministerial code.
had “specifically requested” that the policy be discussed with “parliamentary colleagues”.
The home secretary also gave her a timeline of events as she saw them on the day inquestion.
She said it started with getting up at 4 am to go on a police raid, before travelling two hours by car to the Home Office.
It was during this journey that Ms Braverman sent the email in question from her personal phone as she did not have her work phone with her.
Following a morning of meetings, Ms Braverman says when she realised she had sent the email to a staffer of MP Andrew Percy by accident, she “decided to inform my officials as soon as practicable”.
But before informing the civil service, Ms Braverman bumped into the chief whip and Mr Percy – a meeting during which Mr Percy raised his concerns.
Suella Braverman,the Home Secretary, is expected to give a speech in the House of Commons this afternoon.
It comes as she faces mounting scrutiny for her handling of government information and decisions to postpone the transfer of migrants from overcrowded detention centres to hotels.
In a letter to the Home Affairs Select Committee published in the last hour, Ms Braverman admitted to breaching rules around using her personal email address for government business on six occasions.
The home secretary has been urged to get a “grip” of the situation with migrants in the south of England.
Some 4,000 people have been held at Manston in Kent, a facility designed to hold fewer than 2,000 people.
It is believed her statement today will be on the situation in Manston.
Almost 500 people crossed the Channel in small boats yesterday, and a person threw incendiary devices at a facility in Dover.
The suspect threw two or three devices, which a witness described as petrol bombs, and was later discovered dead at a nearby gas station.
Another device discovered in the man’s car was later rendered safe by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit.
The attack injured two people who were inside the centre.
Kent Police, which is leading the investigation, is not currently treating the incident as terrorism.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman described the attack as “distressing”.
A photographer with Reuters news agency who witnessed the incident reported a man had thrown petrol bombs with fireworks attached before taking his own life.
Dover MP Nathalie Elphicke also said she understood the suspect had killed himself.
Police had been called at 11.22 GMT on Sunday to The Viaduct, Dover, where the devices thrown by the suspect had started a fire.
Speaking to LBC radio, Ms Elphicke said the motivation of the perpetrator was so far unknown, but the centre is “a well-known facility” where small boats arrive before people are taken 20 miles away to the Manston asylum processing centre in Kent.
The Dover siteremained open but around 700 suspected migrants were moved to Manston – about 15 miles (24 km) away – for their safety during the initial stages of the police investigation.
IMAGE SOURCE, PA MEDIA Image caption, Migrants were at the immigration centre following the incident in Dover
Posting to Twitter earlier, Ms Braverman said: “I am receiving regular updates on the situation.
“My thoughts are with those affected, the tireless Home Office staff and police responding. We must now support those officers as they carry out their investigation.”
Conservative Dover MP, Ms Elphicke, said she was “absolutely shocked and appalled” by the incident and that “tensions have been rising” over the numbers of migrants arriving in the town.
“I have expressed my concerns over the security of the centre in Dover,” she said. “I don’t think this is the appropriate place for amigrant-receiving centre. Dover is an extremely busy and open port.”
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick – who visited the Manston facility on Sunday – said he was being updated on the incident by Kent Police.
One issue has stoodout like a sore thumb amid the relative political calm that has washed over Westminster in the last five days.
Suella Braverman’s reappointment as home secretary a week after she resigned over security breaches has perplexed and befuddled Conservative MPs and officials.
Given Rishi Sunak’s commitment to integrity, the perception that a great office of state was traded away for support in the race for Number 10 has riled some.
A former cabinet minister said: “Rishi has screwed up and done a grubby deal to get support… he comes out and says ‘I am the savior, I’m whiter than white’ but he’s grey when push comes to shove.”
Another former minister said Mr Sunak was “desperate for her not to back Boris as they were terrified of an election. He needed a coronation as he’s frightened of any electorate.”
Downing Street denied any deal was done.
But there are also live questions about Mrs Braverman’s suitability for the role.
Her resignation just 11 days ago came after she sent a sensitive government document from her personal email account.
One of the recipients was a veteran Conservative MP who is said to be a regular confidante of the home secretary.
But she also accidentally copied in a parliamentary staffer who works for another Tory MP.
More than 100 charities have signed an open letter to Home Secretary Suella Braverman, urging her to create a “kind and effective system” for asylum seekers in the UK.
It comes amid growing concern about the Manston immigration detention centre in Kent, which was discovered to be housing more than twice the number of people it was supposed to.
This problem has been exacerbated by this weekend’s petrol bomb attack on the Dover Tug Haven asylum site, which has resulted in the transfer of hundreds of people to the Manston processing centre.
The facility was overwhelmed on Sunday night, with a reported 4,000 being housed there – it was initially intended to house 1,600 to be moved on and processed within 24 hours.
Home Office minister Robert Jenrick visited Manston yesterday and admitted the situation there was “intolerable“.
Today I visited Manston to thank Home Office teams who continue to process migrants securely in challenging conditions.
Over 1,000 migrants crossing the Channel yesterday creates immense pressure. I was hugely impressed by the staff I met, managing this intolerable situation.
Mrs Braverman has been accused of failing to help solve Manston’s overcrowding problem. It was reported by The Times this weekend that she refused to approve new hotels where asylum seekers could be sent. It was said she ignored legal advice people should be moved.
On conditions at the site, the Refugee Council said one boy had contracted scabies having stayed at the Manston facility for 19 days in “inhumane” conditions.
The Home Office confirmed a small outbreak of diphtheria, a contagious bacterial infection that can prove fatal if it goes untreated, at the Kent site earlier in October.
The letter from charities reads: “Home secretary when you talk of ‘safe and legal routes’, you must be aware that it is impossible to ask refugees to come exclusively through such a path when even Afghan interpreters who are eligible for one of our few existing schemes remain in hiding from the Taliban.
“When you talk of ‘illegal migrants’, you must be aware that the top nationalities of people making dangerous journeys include Afghanistan, Eritrea, and Syria, and that at least 97% of asylum claims made by people from these countries are successful.
“When you question the existence of ‘modern slavery’, you must be aware that you are dismantling your own party’s proud and internationally-recognized achievement in protecting the survivors of trafficking.
“And when you complain about the cost of housing asylum seekers, you must be aware that, while people seeking safety did not choose to leave their homelands, they are willing to work and keen to contribute, if only the law permitted them.
“You have referred to this country’s proud history of offering sanctuary, so we ask you to make this happen with a fair, kind, and effective system for refugees.
“Deal with the backlog in asylum cases, create safe routes, respect international law, and the UN convention on refugees, and give refugees a fair hearing, however they get here. Then you would have really done something worth dreaming about.”
The letter, co-ordinated by charity IMIX and coalition campaign Together With Refugees, was signed by groups such as Choose Love, Christian Aid, City of Sanctuary UK, Doctors of the World, English National Opera, Freedom from Torture, Good Chance Theatre, JCORE, Jesuit Refugee Service, Rainbow Migration, Refugee Action, Refugee Council, Scottish Refugee Council, Safe Passage and Save the Children.
The government says Home Secretary Suella Bravermanprevented migrants from being transferred from short-term holding centres to hotel rooms in order to “speed up” their applications.
According to Environment Minister Mark Spencer, the government is facing “huge challenges” in managing the migrant situation.
Over the weekend, petrol bombs were thrown at a migrant centre in Dover, while MRSA and diphtheria were reported at another one (Manston, see the previous post) amid overcrowding.
Asked about reports Ms Braverman blocked migrants being moved from short-term holding centres to hotels, Mr Spencer said this was done because the home secretary “wants to process them quickly” and make sure only “genuine” asylum seekers are admitted to the UK.
He added that the way to cut down on migrants crossing the channel is to “break the model” of people traffickers.
Meanwhile, Mr Spencer said that Rishi Sunak would go to COP27 “if he’s got time” and that the prime minister has “an inbox which is full to the brim“.
Labour is demanding that Rishi Sunak “come clean” about Suella Braverman’s security breach.
Ms Braverman resigned as home secretary under Liz Truss last week after violating the ministerial code by sending an official document from a personal email account. Rishi Sunak reappointed her on Wednesday.
Her reappointment has been criticized.
Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said her party will try to “force the government to come clean”.
A number of sources have disputed Ms Braverman’s account of events.
So far new Prime Minister Mr Sunak has resisted demands to launch an inquiry into Ms Braverman’s security breach, despite Labour and the Liberal Democrats raising “national security” concerns and calling for a Cabinet Office probe.
Ms Braverman has also refused to appear before MPs to explain what happened.
Labour wants ministers to share risk assessments of this and other alleged leaks, as well as the information given to the prime minister before he put her back in the Home Office.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said Ms Braverman’s appointment “raises serious doubts” about the prime minister’s judgment and that the pair could not continue to hide from questions.
“Rishi Sunak’s decision to reappoint Suella Braverman was deeply irresponsible.
“Labour will use every parliamentary mechanism open to force the government to come clean over her reappointment, to get answers, and to require detailed documents to be released to the Intelligence and Security Committee.”
Sources dispute events
BBC News has spoken to several people with knowledge of the events surrounding Ms Braverman’s resignation.
A number of them dispute Ms Braverman’s claim to have reported her mistake to the cabinet secretary – the head of the civil service – as soon as she realised.
When confronted about her transgression she attempted to play down and explain away what had happened, sources suggested.
Ms Braverman had emailed a draft written ministerial statement on immigration policy to her close political ally, Conservative MP Sir John Hayes, using her personal email instead of her official government account.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer demanded the home secretary was fired, accusing Mr Sunak of brokering a “grubby deal trading security for support” in the Conservative leadership contest.
But the prime minister insisted Ms Braverman had “learned from her mistake” and that he does not regret the appointment despite some Tory MPs adding also expressing concern.
Backbench MP Caroline Nokes backed opposition calls for an inquiry and former Tory chairman Sir Jake Berry described the breach as “really serious”.
In his first week in office, the PM is fighting a battle on two fronts: over his home secretary and the widely anticipated government spending squeeze.
The latter has already stirred Tory unrest, with former minister Maria Caulfield suggesting the government should stick to the 2019 manifesto and saying indecision over pensions means “people start to worry”.
The PM notably hasn’t ruled out that the pensions triple lock could be on the chopping board, unlike his predecessor Liz Truss, as speculation mounts over a new age of austerity when the chancellor unveils his budget plans next month.
Rishi Sunak has repeatedly said “difficult decisions” are on the horizon.
The more immediate threat, though, is Suella Braverman.
The home secretary, whose backing boosted Mr Sunak’s leadership bid, broke the minister code “multiple times”, Tory MP Jake Berry said last night.
The former party chairman’s comments were seized on by Labour this morning – and they show backbench MPs are already able to make Mr Sunak’s life difficult.
This morning another Tory MP, Caroline Nokes, said there are “big questions hanging over this whole issue”.
There are indeed questions: Was the PM warned by the cabinet secretary when he appointed Mrs Braverman (as one source told political editor Beth Rigby)?
Why did he not heed that warning? And what were the exact circumstances of her breach of the ministerial code?
For a new prime minister who says he wants to do things differently, Mr Sunak may well need to address these questions directly.
One cabinet source told me the PM would not risk losing his home secretary, sacking her would certainly be a bold move that would rumble the carefully balanced semblance of party unity.
The government says she admitted her mistake and is allowed a second chance, but it is clear Mr Sunak’s decision to appoint Mrs Braverman has come at a political cost.
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
A Conservative MPhas demanded an investigation into Suella Braverman’s appointment as Home Secretary.
Ms Braverman resigned on Wednesday last week after using a private email to share government information with a backbench MP. This week, she was rescheduled for Tuesday.
Speaking to the BBC this morning, Caroline Nokes said there are “big questions hanging over this whole issue”.
“And to be frank I would like to see them cleared up so that the home secretary can get on with her job,” she added.
“If that means a full inquiry then I think that’s the right thing to do.”
Meanwhile, the government confirmed Rishi Sunak “sought assurances” from Ms Braverman that she would not breach the ministerial code again when he re-appointed her home secretary.
Oliver Dowden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster was asked in the House of Commons by Labour about the claims Ms Braverman breached the ministerial code “multiple” times (6.31 am post).
Mr Dowden said the home secretary had accepted she made “errors of judgment” – and that the prime minister had “sought assurances to ensure that would not happen again”.
He once again refused to share any private communications between the cabinet secretary and prime minister about the appointment of Ms Braverman, saying this was never done in government.
Mr Dowden repeated what was being said by Downing Street yesterday, in that an independent ethics adviser is set to be appointed soon.
In British politics, the Great Offices of State refers to the four top jobs in politics: prime minister, chancellor, foreign secretary, and home secretary.
We know Rishi Sunak is the first, so let’s look at who the other three are.
Chancellor
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
In a move that many expected, Sunak decided to keep Jeremy Hunt as chancellor after he was brought in to undo the mess caused by former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s September 23 mini-budget.
His was the first appointment to be announced by Sunak’s team.
Foreign Secretary
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Another person who stayed in their cabinet role was James Cleverly, made foreign secretary by Truss a few weeks ago.
It was reported that Penny Mordaunt, Sunak’s rival in the leadership race, had made it clear this was the job she wanted – but she instead remained in her current post as leader of the House of Commons.
Home secretary
EPACopyright: EPA
A controversial addition was Suella Braverman, who were both appointed and re-appointed as home secretary yesterday.
Braverman was made home secretary by Truss in September, but she later resigned after it was revealed she had broken the rules by sending an official document from her personal email account.
In her resignation letter, Braverman claimed it was “not serious politics” for MPs to make mistakes and carry on. Many saw this as a reference to Truss, who was under intense pressure to stand aside, which she did – the next day.
Stay tuned for a full list of everyone Sunak hired yesterday.
After a mainly shadowy leadership race, the veil has cleared and we now have a new prime minister. We’ll never know how many supporters Penny Mordaunt – or Boris Johnson – had, but it wasn’t clear if this would be a coronation or a struggle until the very end.
It is extraordinary to see the man who was defeated by Liz Truss sevenweeks ago replacing her so soon. This time 12 days ago, Kwasi Kwarteng was chancellor and Liz Truss was pushing ahead with her economic vision. Few could have imagined Rishi Sunak would have another shot at the top job so soon.
But today it became clear a Sunak era was close. Pressure had been mounting on Ms. Mordaunt, who was stuck on 25 public endorsements this morning, to pull out as her team dug in. Behind the scenes, they said she had more than 90 backers. She might indeed have been close, but the momentum from the start of this race has been with Mr Sunak.
He did no media interviews, there were no swish videos – just one plain statement announcing he wanted to be the next prime minister.
The former chancellor has managed to bring together very different wings of the party, from Caroline Naokes to Suella Braverman. Even the most ardent of Boris Johnson backers James Duddridge eventually rowed in behind Mr Sunak. His allies say has been proven right on the economy, but the divisions in the Tory party run deep and could quickly resurface. He inherits a grim in-tray in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis and will need to find a way to stop the Tory party from tearing itself apart.
They say divided parties don’t win elections. As the next general election slowly starts to creep into view, will Mr Sunak be able to unite the party enough to govern effectively? He certainly has his work cut out.
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
As we said earlier, we’ve been keeping an eye on the number of Conservative MPs who have declared their support for potential contenders in the leadership election so far.
Take a look at our latest tally:
Rishi Sunak – 56
Boris Johnson – 33
Penny Mordaunt – 17
No one has publicly said they’re running yet.
Our tally is based on MPs telling the BBC who they’re backing, or publicly declaring for a potential candidate, as compiled by the BBC.
You may say see different counts online – as others may be including MPs who‘ve privately told them who they’re backing.
We’ll bring you updates on the numbers as we get them.
Other namesbeing floated as potential contenders are former Home Secretary Suella Braverman and international trade secretary Kemi Badenoch. Defence Secretary Ben Wallaceearlier ruled himself out of the contest.
Candidates need the support of at least 100 MPs by 14:00 on Monday – a much higher threshold than the last leadership race.
The world has been watching the political and economic upheaval in the UK over the past few weeks.
The havoc caused by Prime Minister Liz Truss’s tax-cutting plan, followed by its withdrawal this week, made headlines around the globe.
Even US President Joe Biden waded in, breaking diplomatic norms in doing so.
But what impact has it really had outside the UK? BBC reporters from Berlin to Washington explain how it’s being viewed where they are and what’s changed.
Britain’s political troubles have raised eyebrows in Germany but few are shocked, says the BBC’s Jenny Hill in Berlin.
For many in Berlin, the drama in Westminster is viewed – with some sadness – as just the latest episode in the political and economic upheaval which many Germans suspected would be the inevitable consequence of Brexit.
Neither Chancellor Olaf Scholz nor his ministers have commented publicly on the mini-budget or its repercussions.
But columnists have been scathing in their assessment; the selection of Liz Truss, said one, was a “fatal choice” made by the Conservatives who ignored warnings about her policy.
Another expressed incredulity that MPs were plotting to replace the beleaguered prime minister without a general election, warning that such a “coup” risked turning Britain into a “Banana Republic”.
There was a time when some German politicians would tell me of their admiration for British politics, for the cut and thrust of a system which seemed far more exciting than the compromise-driven, coalition-based German model. It’s an opinion few hold now.
With Japan’s own currency trading at a low, Tokyo is paying attention to the British pound, writes Mariko Oi.
Japan was once known for its own revolving door of prime ministers so the current political turmoil in the UK doesn’t feel unique to many.
Some in local media have labelled her “fake Thatcher” and say she has tried to gamble with the government’s finances. Others are asking how this may affect the UK’s policy towards Asia – most notably its tough stance against China.
In the financial markets, traders have been closely paying attention to the pound as Japan’s own currency is also trading at its 32-year low.
On social media, some people have been comparing her approval rating to Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, saying that he’s still got some room to grow, while others are amused by the British sense of humour behind the “can Liz Truss outlast a lettuce” live stream.
Posting a photo of the stream, one user wrote: “There is not enough humour in Japanese media”.
The bar that foreign news has to clear to penetrate into the American consciousness is quite high.
Special relationship notwithstanding, the British turmoil has garnered scant attention in the US, aside from a tinge of satisfaction from those travelling to the UK upon realising how much the American dollar can purchase these days.
One American who was giving Liz Truss’s predicament some consideration, however, was President Joe Biden who called her tax-cutting plan a “mistake”.
American presidents typically avoid getting too involved in the domestic disputes of other countries. This one, however, took that plunge – even if he seemed to acknowledge he shouldn’t have.
“I think that the idea of cutting taxes on the super wealthy at a time when,” he said, before cutting himself off. “Anyway, I just think – I disagreed with the policy, but that’s up to Great Britain to make that judgment, not me.”
Of course, Mr Biden has his own political challenges to face, with the midterm elections just a few weeks away, Republicans threatening to win majorities in Congress and Americans facing many of the same economic troubles currently bedevilling the British.
The focus in India is on its own economy, writes Rajini Vaidyanathan in Delhi.
News of the turmoil in the UK has barely made the front pages here in India – a sign of how officials in Delhi no longer look to Britain in the way they once did.
Seventy-five years since India gained independence, the focus is on how the economy here is growing, rather than the financial woes of its former coloniser.
The big news of Jeremy Hunt’s reversal of the tax cuts made it to page 12 and 15 in two of the country’s most read papers on the day after, though only as stories in the global sections. “PM Truss humiliated” was the headline which accompanied one of the write-ups.
That’s not to say there’s no interest in Conservative politics or politicians. When British Home Secretary Suella Braverman said Indians were the largest group who overstayed their visas, she sparked an angry reaction, as well as speculation her comments could derail a UK-India trade agreement.
And the real fascination in the summer came when Rishi Sunak entered the final phase of the Conservative leadership contest.
Many in the country wondered whether Mr Sunak – the son-in-law of Narayana Murthy, one of India’s wealthiest and best- known businessmen – would take charge at Number 10.
It didn’t happen then but could it now, ask some of the latest headlines. “Is a Rishi Sunak comeback imminent?” said one.
More than 1,300 “violent and abusive” football supporters across the UK will be required to give up their passports ahead of the upcoming 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The new measures, which are set to come into effect on Friday (Oct. 14), will mean that those with banning orders will be unable to attend the tournament next month.
The Home Office said those who refuse to surrender their passport and attempt to travel to the competition would be at risk of a six-month prison sentence and an unlimited fine.
From November 10, any of the 1,308 people with banning orders wishing to keep hold of their passport to visit other countries will need to seek permission and face being subjected to checks.
Boasting the 98% compliance rate back in 2018, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “We are all looking forward to cheering England and Wales on in Qatar and we will not let the behaviour of a minority of lawbreakers tarnish what will be an exciting tournament. Violence, abuse and disorder is not tolerated here, and this criminal behaviour will not be tolerated at the World Cup which is why we are taking this firm approach.”
She added: “As with all events of this nature, we are working closely with the host authorities on the safety of British nationals attending and on delivering a successful and enjoyable event.”
