Current:Home > FinanceA day after Britain’s prime minister fired her, Suella Braverman accuses him of being a weak leader -StockSource
A day after Britain’s prime minister fired her, Suella Braverman accuses him of being a weak leader
View
Date:2025-04-13 04:11:27
LONDON (AP) — Former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman lashed out at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a day after he fired her, calling his approach “uncertain, weak” and a betrayal of his promises.
In a resignation letter she published on Tuesday, Braverman said Sunak had “manifestly and repeatedly failed to deliver” on key pledges and alleged that he “never had any intention” of keeping them.
Sunak sacked Braverman on Monday after she made a series of intemperate statements that deviated from the government line. In recent weeks she called homelessness a “lifestyle choice” and accused police of being too lenient with pro-Palestinian protests, which she called “hate marches.”
On Saturday, far-right protesters scuffled with police and tried to confront a pro-Palestinian march by hundreds of thousands through the streets of London. Critics accused Braverman’s language of helping to inflame tensions.
In her letter, she said Sunak had rejected her calls to ban pro-Palestinian demonstrations calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.
“Britain is at a turning point in our history and faces a threat of radicalization 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,” she wrote.
As home secretary, Braverman championed the government’s stalled plan to send asylum-seekers who arrive in Britain in boats on a one-way trip to Rwanda. A U.K. Supreme Court ruling on whether the policy is legal is due on Wednesday.
Braverman has called for the U.K. to leave the European Convention on Human Rights if the Rwanda plan is blocked, a move Sunak has not supported.
She accused Sunak of having no “Plan B” if the government loses the Supreme Court case. She said his reluctance to remove Britain from international rights agreements was “a betrayal of your promise to the nation that you would do ‘whatever it takes’ to stop the boats.”
Sunak’s office said the prime minister would “continue to tackle illegal migration ... whatever the outcome of the Supreme Court case.”
“The prime minister was proud to appoint a strong, united team yesterday focused on delivering for the British people,” his Downing Street office said in a statement.
Her fusillade of scorn is part of Braverman’s bid to cement her place as leader of the Conservative Party’s authoritarian right wing. She’s seen as likely to run for party leader in a contest that could come if the Conservatives lose power in an election due next year.
Opinion polls put the party as much as 20 points behind the Labour opposition.
Although Braverman is a rallying figure for some Conservatives, she has the support of a minority of the party’s lawmakers. More centrist Tories see her as reviving the authoritarian and intolerant “nasty party” image that the Conservatives have long worked to shed, starting with the government of Prime Minister David Cameron between 2010 and 2016.
Cameron, widely regarded as politically moderate and socially liberal, returned to government Monday in the Cabinet shuffle that ousted Braverman. Sunak appointed him foreign secretary, making Cameron the first ex-prime minister for half a century to hold another Cabinet post.
veryGood! (3)
Related
- The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
- Animal control services in Atlanta suspended as city and county officials snipe over contract
- 3 migrants, including 2 from Cameroon, died in a truck accident in southern Mexico
- 'She's electric': Watch lightning strike the Statue of Liberty, emerge from her torch
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- Cecil L. ‘Chip’ Murray, influential pastor and civil rights leader in Los Angeles, dies
- Eclipse cloud cover forecasts and maps show where skies will clear up for April 8's celestial show
- Caitlin Clark leads Iowa rally for 71-69 win over UConn in women’s Final Four. South Carolina awaits
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- Hotel prices soar as tourists flock to see solar eclipse
Ranking
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Michael Douglas shocked to find out Scarlett Johansson is his DNA cousin
- Messi ‘wanted to fight me’ and had ‘face of the devil,’ Monterrey coach says in audio leak
- Animal control services in Atlanta suspended as city and county officials snipe over contract
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Jazz Up
- Girl, 3, ‘extremely critical’ after being shot in eye in Philadelphia, police say
- Top Cryptocurrency Stocks on GalaxyCoin in March 2024
Recommendation
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
More Federal Money to Speed Repair of Historic Mining Harms in Pennsylvania
Lionel Messi scores goal in return, but Inter Miami turns sights on Monterrey after draw
Q&A: The Outsized Climate and Environmental Impacts of Ohio’s 2024 Senate Race
Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
Hardwood flooring manufacturer taking over 2 West Virginia sawmills that shut down
Alabama's roster of unlikely heroes got it to Final Four and could be key against Connecticut
Zach Edey powers Purdue past North Carolina State in Final Four as Boilermakers reach title game