Braverman Accuses Sunak Of No 'Plan B' On Rwanda And Failing To Tackle Antisemitism
3 min read
Suella Braverman has accused Rishi Sunak of failing to tackle antisemitism or prepare a “Plan B” for if the government loses in its Supreme Court ruling on the Rwanda policy, following her sacking as Home Secretary.
Braverman, who was removed from government on Monday morning, told Sunak that he must “change course urgently” and that his plan for government is “not working”.
Last week, writing for The Times, she accused the Metropolitan Police of a "double standard" in how it responds to protests by different groups ahead of Saturday’s pro-Palestine march, in an article that was not approved by Number 10.
Earlier in the week she had described sleeping rough as a “lifestyle choice”, in comments that sparked widespread outrage.
There was not the usual exchange of letters between Sunak and Braverman on Monday, but in a letter published on social media on Tuesday evening, Braverman expressed disappointment at what she called the Prime Minister’s “failure” to rise to the challenge posed by the "increasingly vicious antisemitism and extremism displayed on our streets since Hamas’ terrorist atrocities of 7th October”.
Her letter comes less than 24 hours ahead of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the government’s Rwanda policy.
Braverman claimed in her letter that she had “cautioned” Sunak and his team against "assuming we would win” the case, but she was “ignored” and there has been no “Plan B” prepared.
“You opted instead for wishful thinking as a comfort blanket to avoid having to make hard choices,” Braverman added.
“This irresponsibility has wasted time and left the country in an impossible position.”
If the government loses in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Braverman said that Sunak would have “wasted a year” and his “magical thinking - believing that you can will your way through this without upsetting polite opinion - has meant you have failed to prepare any sort of credible Plan B”.
PoliticsHome reported yesterday that moderates in the Conservative Party were hopeful that the reshuffle signaled a return to the centre ground, after a weekend of speculation over Braverman’s future.
However, this afternoon, the former home secretary told the Prime Minster that “someone needs to be honest” and his “plan is not working”.
“We have endured record election defeats, your resets have failed and we are running out of time.
“You need to change course urgently.”
The row over Braverman has brought the divides between the right and centre of the Conservative Party back into the spotlight.
MP Andrea Jenkyns revealed yesterday that she had submitted a letter of no confidence in Sunak to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative party's 1922 Committee.
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