Seven times Suella Braverman enraged No10 by saying what people think
Tory MP defends Suella Braverman over article row
Suella Braverman is at the centre of speculation again over her future as Home Secretary after she penned a controversial article questioning the double standards of the police in handling protests.
While MPs on the left of the Tories are agitating for the champion of the right to be sacked, her allies including Deputy Chairman Lee Anderson point out that she is only “saying what most people think”.
But this latest episode is not the first time that tensions have arisen between Ms Braverman and the serving Prime Minister in her role as Home Secretary.
Already, she has been sacked once by Liz Truss only to return with Rishi Sunak, now her leadership ambitions may land her in trouble again.
As one former senior Downing street figure in the Truss Premiership noted, Ms Braverman has “a habit of being a loose cannon, pursuing her own agenda and leadership ambitions”.
Here are seven other times she clashed with a Prime Minister.
READ MORE: Lee Anderson leads Tory MPs rallying to defend Suella Braverman over article row
1. Calling out the plotters
During the 2022 party conference, Suella Braverman was strongly criticised for claiming that there was an attempted coup against Liz Truss.
She was reacting to Michael Gove’s rebellion on ending the 45p top income tax rate for those earning £150,000 a year or more and attempts to foce Ms Truss not cut benefits.
At the time, she was accused of undermining Ms Truss as Prime Minister.
But now we all know that there was a coup underway led by Mr Gove, and his allies which saw the Truss Premiership end in just 49 days.
2. The clash over legal immigration
The one time Ms Braverman was sacked was when she and Ms Truss had a showdown over her trying to share a briefing with her mentor Sir John Hayes and breaking the civil service code.
She landed in trouble because she sent it to the wrong email address by mistake and another MP reported her.
But the real row was over Ms Truss’ belief that the UK should open the doors to legal immigration to boost economic growth, not least with India where she wanted to sign a trade deal.
Ms Braverman said that legal immigration needed to be brought down instead.
The only debate is whether Truss sacked her or she walked.
But her departure finished off the Truss Premiership.
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3. Small boats ‘invasion’
As Sunak’s Home Secretary, the two have worked together to try to end the small boats crisis and the illegal migration.
With thousands of boats coming across, Ms Braverman made a statement in last November describing it as “an invasion”.
The description delighted the right of her party and was supported by a majority of the public but it caused a meltdown on the left and in the establishment media including the BBC.
Sunak made a point of standing by his Home Secretary but was clearly too nervous or embarrassed to repeat or support the use of the i word.
A similar row borke when she would later warn of “an immigration hurricane”.
4. ‘Multiculturalism has failed’
Last month Ms Braverman made a dramatic speech at the party conference where she warned that multiculturalism in the UK had failed.
She told Sky News that the government needed “honest about the failings in recent years, particularly on immigration, but will say that under Rishi the Conservatives are raising their game”.
The problems on Britain’s streets with the reaction to the Israel/Hamas crisis appear to have vindicated her words.
But Mr Sunak made a point of avoiding supporting her and even appeared to deliberately disagree by praising “Britain’s fantastic multicultural democracy” in his keynote speech.
5. ‘Hate marches’
As tensions mounted over the Israel/Gaza crisis, Ms Braverman called out the anti-Israel marches in support of the Palestinians.
After the Cenotaph was violated, antisemitic chants were heard, jihadi flags flown and the Hamas terrorist atrocities on Israel were openly glorified, Ms Braverman said what most people were thinking and called them “hate marches”.
The phrase apparently has made some in Downing Street and the rest of the government nervous even if it is true.
While Downing Street has agreed the marches include “hateful elements”, they have not supported her description.
6. Homelessness
This month has been a busy one for Ms Braverman, and earlier this week she upset people on the left again including charities when she suggested that for some sleeping on the streets was a lifestyle choice.
She wanted to end the tents populating the middle of London, in particular those handed out by charities, and get people into accomodation which is often available.
As usual, there was the faux outrage on the left (including in her own party). MPs on the right supported her and her words struck a chord with the majority of the public.
Mr Sunak made a point of not endorsing her comments when asked about them directly, limiting himself to say he did not want to see people sleeping rough on the street.
7. The speeding ticket
Before she was Home Secretary while she was still Atorney General, Ms Braverman got a speeding ticket as millions of others have done in the UK.
At the time, she asked an official if it was possible to do the optional training course privately but in the end decided to take the points.
Her allies said it is a normal human response to ask such a question but a leak from the civil service suggested that she had broken the ministerial code asking an inappropriate question.
The revelation broke as Sunak was at a summit and his achievements were lost in the subsequent media storm.
Nevertheless, he resisted launching an investigation into a woman whose support was crucial in getting him the leadership over Boris Johnson and instead gave her a warning.
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