Suella Braverman – latest: Tory civil war over home secretary police row as Sunak urged to sack her
Leaked WhatsApp messages reveal divided Tory party as MPs clash over home secretary’s protest comments
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Your support makes all the difference.Rishi Sunak is facing a Tory civil war as he is urged to sack Suella Braverman over her controversial comments ahead of the pro-Palestine march today.
The home secretary has been accused of stirring “hatred and division” after she claimed the police are biased.
But her job is on the line after Downing Street made clear that it had not approved an extraordinary article in which she accused officers of playing favourites over a pro-Palestine march on Armistice Day.
No 10 says it is investigating after it demanded that changes be made to the piece but the request was ignored. As the home secretary’s claims sparked a furious outcry, one Conservative minister broke ranks to accuse her of fuelling “hatred and division”.
Now, leaked WhatsApp messages between Tory MPs reveal discord in the party as Braverman backers and supporters exchanged heated messages on her comments on the police.
Meanwhile, George Osborne, the former Tory chancellor, said the prime minister risked looking weak if he decided not to axe Ms Braverman.
Senior Met officer refuses to comment on whether Braverman has undermined the force
The officer in charge of policing London during Saturday’s pro-Palestine protest has refused to comment on whether the home secretary’s comments about police bias has undermined the force.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said: “We’ve got a really difficult weekend this weekend, I’m not going to comment on politics.
“It’s not my place to comment on politics. We will police what we need to police with a robust policing pattern, recognising all of the concerns in our communities and for people coming to London over the weekend, so that we can keep them safe.”
Senior Met officer responds to Braverman ‘favourites’ comments
The senior police officer in charge of policing London during Saturday’s pro-Palestine protest has responded to Suella Braverman’s claim in The Times a perception police “play favourites” towards pro-Palestinian protesters who are “largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law”.
Asked if the home secretary’s comments were accurate, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said: “We’ve been really clear on our policing position this week.
“Our job is to ensure that we police without fear or favour, that we balance the rights of everybody - be that protesters, counter protesters, or people living or coming into London.
“And our job this weekend is to ensure that people are kept safe and that is what my focus is on.”
ICYMI: Jeremy Hunt refuses to back Suella Braverman’s comments on Met Police ‘bias’
Jeremy Hunt distanced himself from Suella Braverman’s comments accusing police of bias over a pro-Palestine protest due to take place on Armistice Day, Holly Patrick reports.
Rishi Sunak faces calls to sack the home secretary after she wrote an article accusing officers of playing favorites over the march.
Downing Street says it is investigating after its demands for changes to the piece were ignored.
“The words that she used are not words that I myself would have used,” the chancellor said on Friday.
“I have a productive relationship with her as a colleague and I have always given her the money that she needs to fund police.”
ICYMI: Ex-Natwest boss Alison Rose stripped of £7.6m over Nigel Farage debanking row
NatWest has stripped its former boss Dame Alison Rose of £7.6 million in payouts after she was forced to resign over the Nigel Farage debanking row.
The banking giant said she has not been considered a “good leaver” following her departure and will therefore not receive most of the discretionary parts of her pay package.
Archie Mitchell reports:
Ex-Natwest boss Alison Rose stripped of £7.6m over Nigel Farage debanking row
The banking giant said she has not been considered a ‘good leaver’ following her departure and will therefore not receive most of the discretionary parts of her pay package
Terror police probe fake video of Sadiq Khan spread online by far-right group
Counter terror police are investigating a fake video of Sadiq Khan in which the London mayor appears to suggest Remembrance weekend commemorations be delayed while pro-Palestinian marches go ahead.
The video, which has been shared by far-right accounts on TikTok and X, formerly Twitter, sees a photo of Mr Khan overlaid by what appears to be his voice saying: “What is happening in Gaza is much bigger than this weekend and it is current.”
Archie Mitchell reports:
Terror police probe fake video of Sadiq Khan spread online by far-right group
The video of the London Mayor comes amid an extraordinary row over a major pro-Palestine march coinciding with Armistice Day
Tory clamour grows for Sunak to sack Suella — with Dominic Grieve calling for her to be gone by Sunday
The Tory clamour for Rishi Sunak to sack Suella Braverman is growing, with former attorney general Dominic Grieve calling for her to be gone by Sunday.
As even chancellor Jeremy Hunt distancing himself from the home secretary’s remarks, the PM was under serious pressure to sack Ms Braverman over her controversial article in The Times.
Archie Mitchell reports:
Tory grandee says Suella should go by Sunday as clamour grows for Sunak to sack her
The former Tory attorney general said the ‘best thing Rishi Sunak can do’ is replace Suella Braverman with somebody ‘worthy of the office’ by Sunday
Sunak visits Field of Remembrance
Rishi Sunak paid his respects to the war dead with a visit to the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey.
The prime minister was pictured with wife Akshata Murty at the central London site on Friday afternoon.
2,000 officers will police protests over Remembrance weekend
Some 2,000 officers will be on duty across London over the weekend to police pro-Palestine marches on remembrance weekend.
The Met Police said it had drawn extensive plans that cover both Armistice and Remembrance events as well as a significant march by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
“We know the cumulative impact continued protest, increasing tensions, and rising hate crimes are having across London and the fear and anxiety our Jewish communities in particular are feeling,” the force said in a statement.
“They have a right to feel safe in their city, knowing know they can travel across London without feeling afraid of intimidation or harassment.
Recognising the concern across London, the scale of the policing operation in place represents a doubling of the number of officers on duty for the weekend’s events. On Saturday 1,850 will be on duty and 1,375 on Sunday.”
Half of voters have an unfavourable view of Braverman - poll
More than half of voters have an unfavourable view of Suella Braverman, according to a poll.
For its survey, Ipsos spoke to 1,055 voters between 27 and 30 October - before the latest row over her police comments.
Some 16 per cent of voters said they had a favourable view of the home secretary while 15 per cent said they didn’t know, giving her a net rating of -35 per cent.
Constituents write to Tory MPs complaining about Braverman’s inflammatory rhetoric
Tory MPs are receiving complaints from constituents about Suella Braverman’s inflammatory rhetoric, a former minister has said.
Tim Loughton, the MP for Worthing and Shoreham, also accused the home secretary of “plying her own agenda” in open defiance of No 10.
“She’s not making it easy, I have to say,” he told the News Agents podcast when asked if Braverman’s position was now untenable.
“And this needs to come to a head, it’s doing quite a lot of damage. We cannot have senior members of the cabinet, on the face of it, defying No 10 and plying her own agenda.
He added: “And some of the comments she has made have been unhelpful. And many of us are getting emails from constituents to that effect as well, so it needs to stop.”
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