NEW DELHI: Suella Braverman, who was sacked by UK prime minister Rishi Sunak on Monday during a cabinet reshuffle, is no stranger to controversies.
Her brief tenure as home minister has been marred by several shocking statements and proposed policies on a range of issues. Opponents of Braverman had consistently accused her of employing far-right rhetoric and lacking compassion in her comments about asylum seekers, immigrants and multiculturalism.
Braverman's sacking comes amid multiple pro-Palestinian marches in the UK and concern about the use of antisemitic language.
Braverman had accused police of “playing favourites” by tolerating the demonstrations while using stronger tactics against right-wing protests. Downing Street said it had not approved the comments, which were described by some as “divisive” and “inflammatory” and led to renewed calls for her to be dismissed.
She was effectively sacked by former PM Liz Truss in 2022 over security concerns, just one week after being appointed home minister. She was brought back into the government in the same position a week later by Rishi Sunak.
Braverman’s major controversies- 'Dream to deport people': Braverman was a major proponent of the government’s plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda if they cross the Channel in small boats. Her policy attracted widespread condemnation from human rights groups, and Braverman was criticised after telling an event at the October 2022 Tory conference that it was her “dream” to deport people to Rwanda.
- On Indian immigrants: A major trade deal between the UK and India was “on the verge of collapse” after Braverman expressed “reservations” about the possibility of allowing more immigration from India and said there was a problem with Indian citizens overstaying visas. Braverman is a child of Indian-origin immigrants.
- Security leak: Braverman was effectively sacked as home secretary towards the end of Liz Truss’s premiership after it emerged she had leaked confidential Cabinet papers to right-wing backbencher Sir John Hayes. An investigation found she had sent confidential documents to her personal email address on a number of occasions as home secretary, in addition to leaking a draft ministerial statement to Sir John.
- On asylum seekers: Shortly after her return to government, Braverman again courted controversy by describing the arrival of asylum seekers on the south coast as an “invasion”. She was confronted over her comments, but Braverman said she would not apologise “for the language that I have used to demonstrate the scale of the problem”.
- 'Tofu-eating wokerati': In October last year, Braverman accused opposition parties of being a “coalition of chaos” when discussing the Public Order Bill to crack down on disruptive protests. She told the Commons: “It’s the Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati, dare I say, the anti-growth coalition that we have to thank for the disruption that we are seeing on our roads today.”
- 'Most paedophiles British-Pakistani': In a comment piece in the Daily Mail, Braverman claimed child grooming gangs in the UK were “almost all British-Pakistani”. Muslim groups, medical bodies and others accused her of “amplifying far-right narratives” about British-Pakistani men, but Braverman stood by her comments in a follow-up article for The Spectator.
- On LGBT+: Braverman drew outrage from LGBT+ groups after claiming there were “many instances” where asylum seekers had pretended to be homosexual or transgender to “game the system” and get “special treatment”. She also said being a victim of discrimination on LGBT+ grounds should not be enough to qualify for asylum.
- 'Multiculturalism has failed': In September this year, Braverman said multiculturalism in the UK had “failed” and threatened security. UK PM Sunak distanced himself from her comments which some commentators regarded as part of a pitch for the Conservative leadership should the Prime Minister lead his party to defeat at the next election.
- 'Homelessness a lifestyle choice': Homelessness charities criticised Braverman for reported plans to prevent them from giving tents to rough sleepers and claiming homelessness was a “lifestyle choice”.
- 'Immigration a threat': In May 2023, Braverman spoke at the National Conservatism Conference in London. In her speech, she stated that immigration threatened the country's "national character".