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:2025-04-15 22:02:56
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! (69)
Related
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- A Students for Trump founder has been charged with assault, accused of hitting woman with gun
- Why do millennials know so much about personal finance? (Hint: Ask their parents.)
- Israel strikes Gaza after truce expires, in clear sign that war has resumed in full force
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- With fragile cease-fire in place, peacemakers hope Hamas-Israel truce previews war's endgame
- Top general launches investigation into allegations of alcohol consumption at key commands
- The Excerpt podcast: Food addiction is real. Here's how to spot it and how to fight it.
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- Rand Paul successfully used the Heimlich maneuver on Joni Ernst at a GOP lunch
Ranking
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- Stats show Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has shot at winning NFL MVP award
- Rights of Dane convicted of murdering a journalist on sub were not violated in prison, court rules
- Oklahoma executes man in double murders despite parole board recommendation for clemency
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- Activists Condemn Speakers at The New York Times’ Dealbook Summit for Driving Climate Change and Call for Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza
- Sebastian the husky reunited with owner after getting stuck in Kentucky sewer drain
- Nearly 2 months into the war, many Israelis have no idea if their relatives are dead or alive
Recommendation
Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
Trump will hold a fundraiser instead of appearing at next week’s Republican presidential debate
AP PHOTOS: Indelible images of 2023, coming at us with the dizzying speed of a world in convulsion
Why Kris Jenner Wasn’t “Very Happy” About Kourtney Kardashian’s Public Pregnancy Reveal
Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
Golden Bachelor’s Gerry Turner Is Getting a Live Wedding Special: Save the Date
Netflix Games to roll out three Grand Theft Auto games in December
Live updates | More Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners are released under truce