Supporters said she was “sad” at being ousted as Home Secretary, but warned she will become “queen over the water” now.
The new backbencher is set to build on her Right-wing power base as she plots a return like an exiled Jacobite monarch.
One senior Tory said the Prime Minister had shown “a strategic lack of insight and political acumen” in failing to recognise the realignment in the public’s political allegiances since the Brexit vote in 2016.
Mrs Braverman, meanwhile, said she will “have more to say” after her brutal firing early yesterday. Downing Street said she was informed in a telephone call.
She said: “It has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve as Home Secretary. I will have more to say in due course.”
Her supporters met in Parliament last night to discuss their next steps.
Conservative MP Dame Andrea Jenkyns criticised Mr Sunak’s decision. She said: “I support Suella Braverman. Sacked for speaking the truth. Bad call by Rishi caving in to the Left.”
Former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, now her successor at the Home Office, distanced himself from her outspoken comments last week.
But a poll of Daily Express readers found overwhelming support for Mrs Braverman, with just 65 backing the PM’s decision to sack her, compared to 1,380 who believe she should have kept her job.
MPs in so-called Red Wall seats shared angry comments they had been sent about her sacking on social media. One said that constituents were saying she had been “sacked for saying what most people think”.
Former Cabinet minister Simon Clarke said he “deeply” regretted Mrs Braverman’s departure, adding: “This is not the type of Conservative government I would prefer.”
Another Tory in a traditionally Labour area said the sacking “won’t go down well” with voters and they will be “confused” about Lord Cameron’s return as Foreign Secretary. They added: “It will inevitably alienate some in Red Wall areas.”
Senior Tory Sir John Hayes, writing in today’s Daily Express, believes as one door closes, another opens for Mrs Braverman.
He said: “Suella Braverman – with both bravery and bravado, as her name implies – has dared to speak as voters do on immigration and lawlessness, subjects avoided by weaker minds and fainter hearts.”
A long-term mentor to the ex-Home Secretary, he added: “It is sometimes said that in life it is always later than you think. By contrast, in politics, it is usually earlier than you imagine. Nothing that appears permanent in fact lasts long.
“So opportunities perpetually emerge. In which spirit, Suella Braverman made her mark as the voice of the people and has much to bring to her party and country.” Mr Sunak appointed Mrs Braverman, 43, as his Home Secretary just days after she was sacked by his predecessor Liz Truss for breaking the ministerial code.
More significantly, it came after she had reportedly backed his leadership campaign rather than support Boris Johnson.
Yesterday Mr Sunak summarily fired her in a breakfast-time phone call. The traditional exchange of letters between an outgoing minister and the PM did not happen. It followed a series of rows about comments made by Mrs Braverman.
Mr Sunak declined to back remarks in her party conference speech saying multiculturalism had “failed”, likening immigration to a “hurricane” and more recently describing rough sleeping in tents as a “lifestyle choice”.
Mrs Braverman then submitted an unauthorised article to a newspaper criticising the Metropolitan Police’s handling of pro-Palestinian protests.
She accused the force of “playing favourites”, comments branded by members of her own party as “divisive” and “inflammatory”, while opposition politicians blamed her for stoking tensions that led to a confrontation between far-Right groups and police officers on Armistice Day.
Mr Sunak’s press secretary said the PM believes collective responsibility – being part of a team – is a “very important principle” and senior ministers should always “speak with one voice”. She added there were “issues around language” during the former Home Secretary’s tenure, saying: “It is clearly very important we have a united and strong team at the top of Government.”
