Suella Braverman has ripped into Rishi Sunak again branding him “tepid” and “timid” – and said his plan for Britain is not working.
The former Home Secretary blasted the PM and as she accused him of a lack of “moral leadership”.
Ms Braverman made the comments in an interview with the Mail on Sunday after being sacked by Mr Sunak over a piece she wrote for The Times, which accused the police of double standards for not not banning the pro-Palestine march on Armistice Day.
The article was submitted to Downing Street, but required significant changes and so did not get signed off, it is understood. The piece was published nonetheless.
Ms Braverman said: “I felt there had been a lack of moral leadership over the last four weeks.
“We’ve seen hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets on a weekly basis chanting anti-Semitic slogans, celebrating terrifying acts of terrorism, threatening community cohesion and undermining British values.
“There had been tepid and timid statements from the Prime Minister throughout the course of this issue and I felt there was a real opportunity for the Prime Minister to demonstrate some moral leadership, to demonstrate that this is not what Britain stands for, that we are an inclusive, tolerant and respectful nation whereby violence on the streets of Britain is unacceptable.”
She went on to say that she does back the police but that she speaks “for the British people.”
The former Home Secretary, who is MP for Fareham, says she wants stricter rules and greater powers for the police including to ban marches and to act when certain anti-Semitic chants are made including “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
She added that the “Prime Minister’s plan is not working” and that he “needs to change course urgently.”
James Cleverly replaced Braverman as Home Secretary.
He was previously Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.
The ensuing reshuffle also saw former prime minister David Cameron making a surprise comeback, appointed out of the blue as Foreign Secretary.
The 57-year-old is no longer an elected politician, requiring a rare – but not unprecedented – situation where he will enter the House of Lords as a life peer, allowing him to serve as a minister again.
