RISHI Sunak today batted away calls to sack Suella Braverman after her explosive claims the Met are “playing favourites” over the pro-Palestine march.
Amid a second cabinet meltdown in the space of a week, a spokesperson for No10 confirmed the PM has “full confidence” in his Home Secretary.
AFPSuella Braverman sparked a fresh cabinet row today after she accused the Met of “playing favourites” with protest groups[/caption]
But Mr Sunak came under huge pressure from his own team to cut her loose after she defied orders to press ahead with the incendiary remarks ahead of Armistice Day.
The government was plunged into a civil war as Ministers called her a “disgrace” while her MP backers declared she “she is our hope”.
Labour called on the divisive Home Secretary to go, while ex-chief inspector of constabulary Tom Winsor said she has “crossed the line”.
One minister told The Sun: “I expect she wishes to go out, one way or another, in a blaze of right wing glory.
“She believes the boats can’t be stopped within the ECHR, so she will be looking to avoid blame and come back later.”
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Tory MP Danny Kruger, an ally of the Home Secretary, said:
“She’s talking about the broader culture of police – I think it’s extraordinary people are saying she shouldn’t be commenting on the way the police do their job.
“The Met themselves impose a ban on masks. You see thousands of people flouting that.
“Not everyone in these marches is sympathising with terrorists. The question for them is who they are keeping company with.”
A Downing St spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister continues to believe that the police will operate without fear or favour.”
They added No10 will “update further” after looking into the “details” of the matter.
Ms Braverman sparked fury in the Cabinet after writing in The Times that cops were “playing favourites” by refusing to ban a Gaza march on Armistice Day.
A final version of her opinion piece was published in the newspaper today WITHOUT being signed off by No10.
The PM is said to be “livid”.
Westminster insiders have pointed to the fact that sending an opinion piece to a newspaper without the PM’s approval is a breach of the ministerial code.
In her article, the Home Secretary lashed out at Met chiefs, claiming they are deliberately tougher on right wing protestors than “politically-connected minority groups who are favoured by the left”.
Writing in The Times, Ms Braverman said: “Unfortunately, there is a perception that senior police officers play favourites when it comes to protesters.
“During Covid, why was it that lockdown objectors were given no quarter by public order police yet Black Lives Matters demonstrators were enabled, allowed to break rules and even greeted with officers taking the knee?
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“Right-wing and nationalist protesters who engage in aggression are rightly met with a stern response yet pro-Palestinian mobs displaying almost identical behaviour are largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law?”
The Home Secretary added she’s spoken to serving and former officers who have “noted this double standard”.
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