Claims of Sidelining Over Immigration Stance
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has criticized Rishi Sunak’s cabinet for abandoning the Conservative Party’s tough immigration policy, which she claims was the only vote-winning idea after Brexit. In an account of her time in government, Braverman says she was treated as a heretic for insisting that illegal immigrants crossing the Channel in small boats should be returned to France, where they had been safe.
Braverman accuses Sunak, whom she backed for Prime Minister in 2022, of throwing her under the bus. She describes her return to the Home Office under Sunak as feeling like a dislocation. From the first day, she sensed she did not fit and was not wanted.
Braverman states that the message from No 10 on legal migration was "not now, or never." She claims that her requests for meetings were postponed despite holding a Great Office of State. She had hoped Sunak's promise of reform of human rights legislation and a cut to legal migration would allow her to get things done, but she ultimately found herself sidelined.
Conflicts With Chancellor and Cabinet Colleagues
Braverman recounts chasing Chancellor Jeremy Hunt after Prime Minister’s Questions to plead for a reduction in legal mass immigration. Hunt reportedly told Braverman the Office for Budget Responsibility would not accept a migration cut, warning that cutting migration by 200,000 would lead to a revised down GDP forecast.
Another Cabinet member refused any reduction in foreign students, claiming they contribute £300 billion per year to the economy. Braverman criticizes the Ministry of Defence as a "car crash" of a department, describing it as hierarchical, inefficient, and disorganized.
Data Breach Allegations
Braverman cites the February 2022 data breach that leaked the personal details of more than 18,700 Afghans at risk from the Taliban, along with data on 100 British operatives or more. She calls the data breach a gross breach of national security that put lives at risk and undermined intelligence integrity.
Braverman questions why former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has not faced more scrutiny regarding the incident.